At the beginning of every new endeavor stands one thing: goal setting. In training or coaching, this is particularly relevant because you not only set goals for yourself but also together with your participants. Johanna from blink.it has extensively dealt with the idea of 'Leading through Goals' as part of her psychological thesis. Discover now why the shared goal setting is so important and how you can achieve this as a trainer or coach!

Setting Goals Together: Why the Extra Effort is Worth It

Imagine you work in a larger company, for example as a software developer. One day, the HR department informs you about a new training opportunity that sounds interesting to you. You are generally eager for new perspectives and sign up for the training. Which option would you prefer?

• Option A: At the first meeting, the trainer explains to you what the goals of the training are.

• Option B: Before the first meeting, you sit down briefly with your supervisor, and you discuss together what goals the training has for you.

And what do you think as a trainer or coach? The first option seems to save time at first glance from the organizers' perspective – but the second option ensures that the employee feels taken seriously. Even if the outcome remains the same for both options, a shared agreement before the training can positively influence the entire course and thus the outcome.

As an additional incentive, the supervisor can also offer a bonus if the shared goals are achieved.

Benefits of Shared Goal Setting Between Supervisor and Employee

• The personal goals of the employee are taken into account

• The employee feels actively responsible for achieving the goal and is more willing to perform

• The supervisor is relieved in the long term by the established process

• The relationship between the supervisor and the employee is intensified

What speaks for the classical goal setting (Option A above), however, is the apparent time savings. Of course, appointments for discussion have to be arranged and kept. The question is only: Do the mentioned advantages of shared goal setting outweigh? Especially in the context of further training, the goal has high priority. If a participant does not actively work towards achieving the (learning) goal, they may not achieve it.

Therefore, it holds true: Goals are only meaningful if the person involved agrees with them. In other words: Goals are even counterproductive if they are imposed from the outside. Shared goal setting solves this problem.

Creating a Clear Process Through Goal Agreement

In her thesis, Johanna developed a goal agreement system together with the management of blink.it. The guiding question behind it: What does a process look like in our company in which the supervisor together with individual employees finds, pursues, and evaluates a goal?

The result of Johanna's project was a goal agreement system consisting of four steps:

1. Preparation: Supervisor and employee separately consider which goals are important for the employee in the near future.

2. Agreement: At a meeting, employees and supervisors share their thoughts and set goals together.

3. Implementation: The employee can decide for themselves how to achieve the goals and works on them. Depending on the duration of the goal setting, one to two interim discussions with the supervisor are advisable.

4. Retrospective: At the pre-scheduled time, a closing conversation takes place, during which the achievement of the goal is reviewed and the process is reflected upon.

These four steps provide the framework for the goal agreement system and explain the process of goal setting.

Johanna from blink.it: In her scientific thesis, she dealt with the topic of leading through goal agreements.

Everything SMART? – Conditions for Good Goal Setting

What exactly a good goal looks like is clarified by another concept you may already know as a trainer or coach: According to the mnemonic SMART, a good goal should meet the following conditions:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Actively influenceable

• Realistic

• Time-bound

For the goal agreement system, it is particularly important to emphasize the point of timing: You set a specific duration by which the goal should be achieved. At a predetermined point in time, a check-in takes place between the employee and the mentor – for example, you or a supervisor. During this time, issues can be identified or questions clarified. A joint reflection (retrospective) helps both sides recognize what has gone well and what may need to be optimized.

Development Goal or Performance Goal? – 5 Types of Goals

Finally, we want to clarify the type of the goal: Here you can primarily distinguish between development goals and performance goals. The former is about personal development, while the latter specifically concerns achieving a performance.

These and other types of goals with examples:

Further information on these different types of goals can be found in the book “Formulating Goals” by Klaus Watzka. Consider for each goal what type it is – this way you can better assess what steps are necessary.

How You as a Trainer or Coach Can Set Goals Together

Now you have learned about the process with the goal agreement system, conditions for good goal setting, and different types of goals. But how can you as a trainer or coach contribute to ensuring that goal setting takes place together?

In principle, you can address the supervisor and/or HR development in advance of a training session about the method mentioned above and explain the advantages. If your client decides to follow this approach with the training participants, you can prepare both sides for the various steps (see above). During the duration of the goal, you can also serve as an independent third party providing advice.

Your Role in Goal Setting Between Participant and Supervisor

• Beforehand: Preparation and information of both parties about the process of goal agreement

• During: Offer a neutral perspective in case of questions and possible misunderstandings

The Shared Goal Setting Between Trainer and Participant

Also between you as a trainer/coach and your participant, a shared goal setting can be sensible: What are the goals of the training? What exactly should the individual participant do differently in the future? Depending on whether you are leading a group with several participants or conducting individual coaching sessions, you will have different amounts of time available for a participant.

As a Trainer with Several Participants

In training sessions with a group size of more than five participants, personal goal agreements become difficult or eventually too costly for your client. Here you can offer to present the goal agreement system in the group and then hold individual discussions in the webinar. This way, you save travel time.

To save even more time, you can also skip the interim talks. However, the shared goal agreement and retrospective are important and still more effective than a goal setting imposed on the employee from the outside!

As a Coach in One-on-One Conversations

If your training or coaching is designed such that you have enough time with the individual participant, you can fully utilize the goal agreement system. Ideally, you should also involve a supervisor of the participant – for example, in Step 1 (Preparation) and Step 4 (Retrospective). Only in this way can it be ensured that after your training or coaching, there is a person in the company who knows the participant's goal and has monitored the process.

Multiple feedback cycles are particularly useful here to achieve the best result and make adjustments if necessary. This means that you would meet every two weeks, for example, to discuss current progress, possible challenges, and solutions. If the method of the goal agreement system has not yet been known in the company, you set a good example with this intensive initial support. Gradually, the entire workforce can be made aware and motivated for this kind of shared goal setting.

As a Trainer or Coach with Yourself

Even without a real counterpart, you can benefit from the concept of shared goal setting: Create commitment by setting a fictitious goal agreement with yourself. Set deadlines for the coming weeks to actively take time to review your own goals. And why not display your goals visibly near you, for example above your desk!

You can, of course, pass on these tips to your participants if a "real" shared goal agreement with you or a supervisor is not possible.

In principle, a goal agreement system should take place at least once live and in person. After all, the relational aspect is particularly important with this method. You can also hold the interim discussions by phone if time is tight. However, the initial conversation – in which the actual goal setting takes place – should be conducted in person.

Goal Setting in Online Support

If you are reading this blog, you may be considering accompanying your training or coaching online. Perhaps you already have some kind of online academy and are using a blended learning approach. In this case, you have a few additional options for goal setting:

• Use very concrete calls to action in online impulses that make sense as partial steps toward the agreed goal.

• Contact the supervisor or HR development if you notice during online support that your participant may need additional support (Caution, there may be data protection restrictions that you need to clarify beforehand)

• Strengthen your participants' commitment by having them sign a large poster at the first in-person event. On the poster, write the goal setting agreement that you may have made with all participants. Take a photo of it and use it as the first image in your online support!