Performance Management: Putting Research into Action

Goal Framing

Goals can be framed in several different types of ways that affect how well people learn and perform. Goals can be framed either negatively (“During the following year, try not to lose more than five out of your forty current customers”) or positively (“During the following year, try to keep at least thirty-five out of your forty current customers”). Negatively framed goals lead to more anxiety, as well as lower persistence and performance, compared to goals that are framed positively (Roney, Higgins, & Shah, 1995).

Under Jack Welch’s leadership, General Electric (GE) was well known for its encouragement of “stretch goals” that challenge employees to achieve objectives that they do not yet know how to reach (Kerr & Landauer, ...