HBR Guides to Performance Management Collection (4 Books) (HBR Guide Series)

CHAPTER 1

The Characteristics of Effective Goals

Setting clear goals is the starting point of managing performance. Goals define the results that your people should aim to achieve in a given period of time. When you work with your employees to establish targets, you help ensure that their time and energy will be spent on the things that matter most to them—and to your organization. Doing so enhances motivation, provides accountability, and boosts performance.

Agreeing on specific targets is only part of the goal-setting process, however. You must also define how your employee’s progress toward these objectives will be evaluated and how to measure results and gauge behavioral expectations. Defining this information at the outset will make assessing ...