Hard Goals Are the Best Motivator

You might be surprised to learn that motivation, as a serious topic for psychological study, was pooh-poohed 50 years ago.  So begins a 2002 paper published by business professors Edwin Locke and Gary Latham titled Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation: A 35-Year Odyssey.  It’s worth a read.

 

Basically, Locke and Latham surveyed the literature on goal-setting and motivation, and drew several conclusions.  Here they are in a nutshell.

 

Goal-setting works, and hard goals work best

1. Difficult goals yield the highest level of effort and performance.
2. Encouragement (“Do your best”) is not as effective as goal setting.

Motivation increases because hard goals:

1. Focus our attention on goal-relevant activities, and away from irrelevant activities.
2. Energize us, resulting in more effort.
3. Prolong our effort either to make deadlines, or stay in it for the long haul.
4. Compel us to test out know-how and strategies until we find a solution. 

Our level of motivation is influenced by:

1. Commitment - the most important factor when goals are difficult
2. Importance - our belief in the need to achieve a goal
3. Confidence - our belief that we can succeed
4. Feedback - knowing our progress in relation to the goal
5. Task Complexity - our ability to master the skills needed to achieve difficult tasks

Is all this new?  Probably not.  But it serves as a good reminder that:

• we work most effectively when we rise to the occasion
• understanding the underlying principles of motivation are helpful in pulling together a goal framework that works effectively for us
• what works to motivate us, works to motivate others, too