SMART Goals Can Drive Mediocrity, But There's A Better Way

Forbes

31-03-2025

SMART goals aren't making your employees better—they're making them mediocre.
SMART goals aren't making your employees better—they're making them mediocre.
At first glance, SMART goals seem like a practical approach to performance management. They're Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound—designed to keep people on track and focused. But there's a problem: greatness isn't 'achievable and realistic.' And when organizations lean too heavily on SMART goals, they often stifle ambition and reinforce the status quo.
A Leadership IQ study of 16,000 people found that employees who set difficult, audacious goals are 34% more likely to love their jobs. And top executives? They're 64% more likely to set bold goals. Yet, despite overwhelming evidence that ambitious goal-setting drives engagement and success, many leaders still default to achievable and realistic targets.
When leaders prioritize 'achievable and realistic' over 'bold and transformative,' they send a subtle but powerful message: play it safe. This is particularly harmful in today's rapidly evolving workplace, where innovation and adaptability are key differentiators.
Consider the data: A Leadership IQ study found that only 14% of employees feel their annual goals will help them achieve great things. That means 86% of employees are going through the motions, setting and completing goals that do little to challenge or inspire them. Worse, many people have fallen into the habit of copying and pasting goals from year to year, turning the entire exercise into a box-checking ritual rather than a driver of real performance.
If you think back to your biggest accomplishments, were they easy? Or did they push you beyond your comfort zone, force you to learn, and demand real courage? The reality is, high performers thrive on stretch goals. And when they're deprived of them, engagement plummets. In fact, in 42% of organizations, high performers are less engaged than low performers—often because they're not being challenged enough.
In an era where disengagement and burnout are rampant, leaders must rethink how they motivate their teams. And that starts with re-examining goal-setting frameworks.
SMART goals are safe, but they rarely lead to breakthrough innovation. Steve Jobs didn't set a SMART goal to invent the iPhone. He didn't aim for 'a 10% improvement in mobile communication.' He set out to fundamentally change the way people interact with technology. And that required setting goals that were bold, risky, and yes, sometimes terrifyingly unrealistic.
The best leaders push their employees beyond their comfort zones. But that doesn't mean setting impossible, demoralizing goals. It means crafting goals that inspire people to grow, learn, and stretch their capabilities. The research backs this up: Employees who set difficult goals are significantly more engaged, more resilient, and more likely to achieve outstanding results.
Instead of SMART goals, consider HARD goals:
Unlike SMART goals, HARD goals tap into intrinsic motivation. They force people to envision success, emotionally commit, and develop new skills in the process.
To shift from mediocrity to greatness, leaders need to set goals that are just beyond current capability; if employees feel 100% confident they can hit their target, it's too easy. Make the goal emotionally compelling by linking goals to a deeper purpose or impact. Encourage continuous learning so that employees gain new skills and perspectives in pursuit of their goals. Create a culture of resilience by normalizing setbacks as part of growth, not as failures.
Imagine if your organization embraced the kind of goal-setting that led to the iPhone, SpaceX, or Amazon. Imagine if instead of hitting 'achievable' goals, your employees were pushing the boundaries of what's possible. If your goals aren't challenging, neither is your company.