LOCKE’S GOAL SETTING THEORY
Use when you want to motivate, monitor and control staff by using targets.
Edwin Locke claimed that there was a relationship between how difficult and specific a goal was and how well a team performed.
The five principles that underpin successful goal setting:
- Clarity: When a goal is clear and specific, there is less misunderstanding within the team about who is expected to do what, to what standard and within what timeframe.
- Challenge: Teams are motivated by challenge and achievement. A ‘good’ goal is one which is difficult but doable and which team members believe will give them great satisfaction when achieved.
- Commitment: Teams are more likely to ‘buy into’ a goal if they feel they were part of creating the goal.
- Feedback: Teams react positively to action by the leader that clarifies expectations, adjusts goals and acknowledges achievement.
- Task complexity: Teams may get excited by working on challenging tasks but they may also get overwhelmed if the task is too complex.
Locke asserts that the underlying purpose of goal setting is to facilitate success. If managers fail to make targets clear and specific they will frustrate and inhibit staff from achieving their objectives.
HOW TO USE IT
- Recognise that if your team isn’t operating as effectively as it should the problem may lie with you. Did you set specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited goals (SMART targets – see Theory 97)? If not, redraw them. Ensure that each goal is both challenging and realistic. Aim too high and you’ll demotivate your team. Aim too low and the team will become bored and disinterested.
- Once you have set SMART targets ask staff to set their own individual targets. Have them use the SMART approach and make sure that their targets are compatible with the team’s goals. By doing this, you keep everyone motivated and committed to an integrated set of personal and team goals.
- Provide regular feedback to both individuals and the team but don’t go overboard. You don’t need daily team meetings or meetings to agree agendas for meetings etc. Instead, provide feedback as and when you come into daily contact with people and hold short, snappy meetings to discuss and record progress.
- For complex tasks take special care to ensure that you don’t overwhelm the team. Those team members who are used to working on complex tasks may be straining to strut their stuff. But less experienced staff may feel under severe pressure to perform. Keep an eye on them and talk to them regularly.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
- Have I set SMART targets for the team and each person in it?
- Do my meetings help the team achieve its targets or slow it down?
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.