The Human Factor Episode 21: Goal Setting for Success with Paul McVeigh

At some point, we have all likely set goals for ourselves. Whether they are new years resolutions, goals for work, or personal goals the process we went through may have been different. Goals to give up smoking, take the dog for more walks, or losing weight may feature in our home life, and at work, goals such as securing a volume of sales, or increasing customer satisfaction could be set to measure our job performance. The goals we set for ourselves (or maybe someone set them for us) can drive us to better performance, a healthier lifestyle and/or personal development. However, poorly set goals can also have a toxic effect on our self esteem. In this episode, we will be discussing goal setting, goal measurement, and goal achievement largely in the context of the sporting world and primarily in football. Studies, for example by Edwin A. Locke who is a pioneer in goal-setting theory, have shown that the more specific and ambitious the goal can be, the higher the likelihood of performance improvement as a result. Whether it be at home or at work, as long as the person accepts the goal, has the ability to attain it, and does not have conflicting goals, then there is a positive linear relationship between goal difficulty and task performance. But our conversation today wont stop at setting goals, we will also explore how we monitor and measure our performance against those we set, and what should we do if we achieve or fail the goals.