Goal-setting pitfalls and best practices

Goals are essential for any organization that wants to achieve its vision, mission, and strategic objectives, and provide employees with direction and purpose.

However, there are pitfalls that can derail your process and undermine desired outcomes. Get to know the most common goal-setting pitfalls, and the best practices that can help you avoid them.

Pitfall: Setting too many goals

Best practice: Sharpen focus by limiting the number of goals to 3-5.

It’s been said, “If everything is important, then nothing is.” One major pitfall companies fall into again and again isn’t not doing enough, but rather, trying to do too much.

Limiting the number of goals actually improves performance, allowing teams to focus on only the highest priority items. In doing so, it gives them permission to say no to projects that could serve as a distraction. For that reason, setting just 3-5 goals per team is the optimal amount.

Pitfall: Setting “business as usual” goals that are too safe

Best practice: Set aspirational stretch goals.

A truly aspirational goal is one where you feel that you might only have a 50/50 chance of fully achieving it. Yes, no one likes to be in a status meeting and see their goal status “in the red,” but in order to achieve great results, it’s important to push past that discomfort and set goals that stretch what is thought possible.

Pitfall: A “set it and forget it” approach to goals

Best practice: Conduct frequent updates to monitor goal progress and make adjustments.

The end of a goal-setting planning session can feel great. Targets are set, everyone is on the same page, and the future looks amazing. But it’s the day-to-day execution that leads to results. To reach your goals, clear and consistent updates on progress are required to monitor results. Even if it's only every two weeks, getting feedback drives accountability and keeps teams on track.

Pitfall: Making things too complicated

Best practice: Start where you are.

If you ask a photographer “What is the best camera?”, a common answer is “The one you have with you.” This explains the overwhelming popularity and use of mobile phone cameras and photo sharing apps over more complicated and bulkier DSLRs.

The same can be said for goal-setting systems – start with the system you already have and are familiar with. While Viva Goals is flexible enough to support goal frameworks such as OKRs and SMART goals, if your organization already has goals written a certain way, don't feel like you have to throw them out and start over in order to adhere to a strict formula. Instead, start where you are, and make adjustments to be more aspirational and measurable as you go.

Additionally, you can incorporate goal setting into your existing flow of work. If you already have data related to your goals in programs like Microsoft Excel or Azure Dev Ops, you can integrate that with Viva Goals with just a few steps.

Likewise for communication. Don’t seek to create new meetings to discuss goals, but rather, carve out a small amount of time to discuss goals within existing meetings.

Pitfall: Goals don’t have measurable outcomes (or measure the wrong thing)

Best practice: Choose the right metrics.

Tracking and monitoring your goals gives you insight and can help you pivot when needed, but only if you set the right metrics. Vague outcomes such as "increase our marketing reach" or "improve customer service" make it difficult to know if progress has been made.

Let's say you want to improve company culture, so you create a metric of "increase attendance at all-hands meetings."

First, ask yourself, is this data available? Is there a record of the "before" state of how many people attend so you can improve on that number?

Next, how easy is it to get this data? If you have a 300-person hybrid team where some meet in person and some online, will you need someone to manually count attendees?

Will attendance even give you the feedback you’re seeking? Would a survey showing if attendees gain value from the meeting be a better indicator of success?

Lastly, is this truly a metric that moves the needle? Surely attendance at company events is important, but if you could only set and achieve three goals this quarter, is there something else that would have a greater impact? That’s what we mean about choosing the right metrics.

Pitfall: Immediately move from one goal to the next

Best practice: Celebrate success!

The pace of business moves quickly and is constantly changing. Once a goal-setting rhythm of business has been established, it’s easy to move from one time period to the next, whether goals were reached or not. However, it’s important to reflect on what went wrong, how things could be improved, and equally as important – celebrate significant wins.

Successful goal setting requires clarity, focus, and adaptability. By following these best practices and avoiding common pitfalls, your organization can create a roadmap for achieving its mission and drive sustained success.