Goal Attainment Scaling

Lots of people aim for a goal, with very specific success criteria in mind.

• I’ll run three times a week
• I’ll go to bed early every night
• Ill buy a house by the time I’m 35
• I’ll write a book this year
• I’ll sign 25 new clients a month

The way they construct their goal striving allows only for achievement or failure. Which means they often fail. Which leads them to the disheartening belief that they’re unable to affect change, which in turn affects their motivation, which then discourages further attempts and so stymies their ongoing achievement. Gah!

Instead of focusing on pass/fail, it can be far more helpful to establish a Goal Attainment Scale: identifying different levels success.

Here’s how:

+ Identify your goals: eg go to bed early every night

+ Then beside each one, note down the following:

• Best expected outcome: bed early 7 nights/week
• More than expected outcome: bed early 5 nights/week
• Expected outcome: bed early 4 nights/week
• Less than expected outcome: bed early 2 nights/week
• Worst expected outcome: late nights every night/week

Then for a week or a month or whatever suits your goal best, track your performance. Notice how your approach, how your feelings about the process, and how your actual goal attainment shifts.

So good!

Tags: career-coaching, life-coaching, Melbourne