The most basic question an employee can ask an employer is
“What is it you want me to do?”
From an employer’s perspective, you want every team member to know exactly what they are responsible for. Call it task setting. Whether someone is working on a manufacturing line, managing that team, or taking overall responsibility for workplace safety on the premises, clarity matters. Here is your remit, and here is that person’s remit.
Task setting sets the foundation. But turning routine job roles into high-performing, engaging work requires connecting Job Design directly to Goal Setting. With mid-year reviews wrapping up, now is the ideal time to reflect on your current targets and set your sights on next year’s goals.
How Do You Climb A Mountain?
Goal setting is about aspirational objectives, this sometimes includes stretch targets, sometimes immediate wins. An athlete might look at a goal, such as winning a European medal. (And well done to Team Ireland on their recent achievements!)
Putting “win a European Medal” or “win the World Cup” on paper is a great goal, but academics at Sheffield Hallam University suggest that techniques from sports psychology can massively boost employee engagement and performance. Their research points to breaking those big dreams down into shorter-term targets with the ultimate hope of attaining the main goal.
I climbed Croagh Patrick last Sunday, and as I was heading up, a line came back to me that someone told me years ago in Central America:
“How do you climb a mountain? One step at a time!”
I remembered laughing at the time as we were climbing a relatively dormant volcano, but that line stayed with me. It’s completely relevant to goal setting. Remember that goals should require effort, but they shouldn’t be unachievable.
Goals where an employee has had a hand in deciding the targets are far more likely to motivate people toward higher performance. So it is prudent to have employees actively participate in goal setting.
The Science of Motivation: Locke & Vroom
A dTo design jobs that actually drive people, two foundational management theories give us the roadmap:
Edwin Locke’s 5 Principles of Goal Setting
As detailed in Organizational Behaviour (French et al., 2015), specific goals are far more likely to lead to higher performance than vague or general ones like “do your best.” Locke’s research highlights five key ingredients:
- Task Complexity: Complex roles need realistic deadlines and proper support.
- Clarity: Clear, specific targets leave no room for guesswork.
- Challenge: Goals must require real effort without becoming unachievable.
- Commitment: People buy into goals when they help shape them.
- Feedback: Appropriate feedback keeps people informed of their progress.
How to Motivate?
Carrot or stick?
Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
Expectancy Theory breaks motivation down to a simple principle: performance leads to rewards. An employee has to believe that their effort will result in performance, and that performance will actually lead to a meaningful reward. If job design breaks that connection, motivation drops off fast.
Management by Objectives (MBO) and Mutual Goal Setting
This brings us to Management by Objectives (MBO). When sitting down for mutual goal setting with your manager, keep these core questions in mind:
- What must be done? — Core tasks and primary deliverables.
- How will performance be measured? — Clear qualitative or quantitative metrics.
- What is the performance standard? — Start with the previous year’s performance as a baseline.
- What are the deadlines for the goals? — Timelines for short-term steps and long-term targets.
- What is the relative importance? — Goal ranking, which should always be decided together.
- How difficult are the goals? — Challenging enough to push capability without burning people out.
Remember: Employees carry out the required tasks, and managers coach and counsel. A manager’s role isn’t micro-management; it’s guiding, removing roadblocks, and supporting the climb.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Precision Drives Results
Vague ambitions get vague results. Incorporating KPIs into job design ensures goals stay specific.
Instead of setting a general target like “improve factory safety,” a clear KPI specifies “conduct weekly safety audits and reduce reportable line incidents by 15% over the next two quarters.” This specificity gives employees something concrete to aim for every single day.
Key Takeaway: 5 Steps to Take Control of Your Next Review
Don’t wait for your manager to hand down your goals for next year. Use these practical steps to come to your next review prepared to shape your own role outcomes:
- Audit Your Performance with Data: Pull together your metrics, completed projects, and feedback. Use your previous year’s performance as the starting benchmark to show what you’ve delivered and where you can reasonably stretch next.
- Draft 3–5 Specific Goals in Advance: Build goals that combine short-term targets (“one step at a time”) with one larger aspirational objective.
- Map Your Goals to the Bigger Picture: Align your personal targets with team or business priorities so your manager sees how your success helps the wider business win.
- Identify the Coaching & Resources You Need: If performance leads to reward, make sure you have the tools to perform. List any training, budget, tools, or manager coaching you’ll need to hit your targets.
- Propose Priorities and Deadlines: Agree on goal rankings together so you both know what takes priority when things get busy, and bring realistic deadlines for each milestone.
You’ve had your mid-year reviews so hopefully this helps you achieve your current targets while keeping an eye on next year’s goal setting with your manager. Take it one step at a time.
References
- French, R., Rayner, C., Rees, G., Rumbles, S., Schermerhorn, J. R. Jr., Hunt, J. G., & Osborn, R. N. (2015). Organizational Behaviour (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons, pp. 165–169.
- Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (1990). A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance. Prentice-Hall, Inc.
- Sheffield Hallam University Research: Sports Psychology Techniques Applied to Employee Engagement and Performance Metrics.
- Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and Motivation. John Wiley & Sons.
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