Elsevier

Organizational Dynamics

Volume 32, Issue 3, August 2003, Pages 309-318
Organizational Dynamics

LEARNING FROM PRACTICE
Goal Setting:: A Five-Step Approach to Behavior Change

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-2616(03)00028-7Get rights and content

Section snippets

SUPERORDINATE GOAL

A superordinate goal captures the “heart” because it focuses primarily on affect; it appeals to emotion. In doing so, a superordinate goal gives people a cause they can rally around. The purpose of a superordinate or overarching goal is to capture the imagination, and hence to galvanize people to take action. A superordinate goal reflects the power of language expressed in ways that convey to people something they can believe in. Hence a superordinate goal facilitates self-management. It is a

GOAL SETTING

Whereas a superordinate goal appeals primarily to affect, goal setting is first and foremost a cognitive variable. The purpose of goal setting is to make the superordinate goal concrete, to move it from emotional rhetoric to concrete action steps. To do this, the goal must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and have a time-frame (SMART).

For Walt Disney, the superordinate goal of “learning through entertainment” led to the setting of SMART goals, which in turn led to the construction

INTEGRITY

Leaders must model commitment to the superordinate and SMART goals. Hence, an organization’s leaders need to take a long look in the mirror to see whether their words and actions are consistent with the superordinate and SMART goals that have been set. To the extent they are not, leaders are a primary source of hypocrisy in the workforce. The problem for leaders is they are often unaware of the signals they send. These signals are frequently inadvertent or unconsciously sent. Thus it is

ACCESSIBILITY

It is difficult to be an effective leader when you are inaccessible to the people who are on your team. Leaders need to be accessible for at least two reasons: (1) to let people know what they are doing is both noticed and appreciated with regard to goal attainment, and (2) to encourage dissent with the goals that are set.

Just as engineers strengthen and reinforce bridges, leaders need to strengthen and reinforce behavior that is consistent with the superordinate and SMART goals. If this is not

MEASUREMENT

An axiom in psychology is that which gets measured, gets done. Measurement conveys loudly and clearly what organizational decision makers believe is important, versus what they say is important. Effective leaders ensure that the measurement system is aligned with the superordinate and SMART goals. If people are rewarded and promoted on metrics that do not support the goals, zealots will remain committed to the goals, everyone else will focus on “that which gets measured.”

When dysfunctional

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Superordinate goals galvanize and excite people. They give people a cause that they can rally around. The downside is that they can play with people’s emotions; they can be a source of cynicism in that they are nothing more than rhetoric. The solution is goal setting. Specific high goals make the superordinate goal concrete. They make clear what people have to do to make the superordinate goal a reality. To gain goal commitment, one must understand the outcomes that people expect from attaining

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

For a comprehensive overview of goal setting theory and empirical research on goal setting, see my 1990 book, coauthored with editor Locke, A Theory of Coal Setting and Task Performance (Englewood Cliffs, NJ), as well as our article “Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation: A 35-year Odyssey,” in the American Psychologist, 2002 57, 705–717.

For studies on ways that goal setting leads to a high performance cycle, read G. P. Latham, W. A. Locke & N. E. Fassina,

Gary P. Latham is formerly the Ford Motor Research professor and chairman of the Management and Organization Department of the Business School at the University of Washington. He is now the Secretary of State professor of Organizational Effectiveness in the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He is one of three persons in Canada who is a Fellow of the Academy of Management and is the only Canadian who is a member of the prestigious Society of Organizational Behavior. Latham

First page preview

First page preview
Click to open first page preview

References (0)

Cited by (87)

  • The psychology of health-related behaviour change

    2021, A Prescription for Healthy Living: A Guide to Lifestyle Medicine
  • A guide to curriculum inquiry for brachytherapy simulation-based medical education

    2020, Brachytherapy
    Citation Excerpt :

    Objectives should adhere to the “SMART” (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and have a Time frame) criteria to ensure feasibility and accessibility. The five basic elements of an SMART objective are the following: “(1) who (2) will do (3) how much (how well) (4) of what (5) by when” (28,29). An example learner objective in their initial training could be “PGY-2 residents will demonstrate proper placement of a ring and tandem applicator within a phantom by the end of their first brachytherapy rotation.”

  • Comparing the effects of goal types in a walking session with healthy adults: Preliminary evidence for open goals in physical activity

    2020, Psychology of Sport and Exercise
    Citation Excerpt :

    Although the SMART acronym identifies ‘achievable’ and ‘realistic’ rather than challenging goals, there are similarities in terms of setting specific, measurable, time-bound goals. Indeed, Locke and Latham have noted a connection between goal-setting theory and SMART goals when translating theory to practice (Latham, 2003; Locke & Latham, 2015). In addition to Locke and Latham’s goal-setting theory, researchers adopting self-regulation theory similarly note a connection between their framework and SMART goals (e.g., Mann, de Ridder, & Fujita, 2013).

  • BIM Adoption Issues in Infrastructure Construction Projects: Analysis and Solutions

    2023, Digitalization in Construction: Recent Trends and Advances
View all citing articles on Scopus

Gary P. Latham is formerly the Ford Motor Research professor and chairman of the Management and Organization Department of the Business School at the University of Washington. He is now the Secretary of State professor of Organizational Effectiveness in the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He is one of three persons in Canada who is a Fellow of the Academy of Management and is the only Canadian who is a member of the prestigious Society of Organizational Behavior. Latham consults widely in industry, and has authored and coauthored numerous books.

View full text