Goal setting research

It is easy to day dream about an idea that we have. However, to move a day dream into the real world can sometimes simply take a conversation. Using a mentor has a sounding board to articulate our ideas can help us to go from an abstract idea which we are playing around with to taking our first steps along a path which leads to something new. 

When using a mentor as a sounding-board, their "most important contribution may be to simply listen. When we have a goal in mind but don’t articulate it, it’s easy to let it slide. But when we share our goal with someone else, we suddenly feel more accountable. We are more likely to go through with pursuing it" (Lipman, 2020, 64%, citing Gardener & Albee, 2015). The simple act of telling someone else our goal makes our own success much more likely. Goal setting research conducted in 2007 "found that more than 70 percent of those who sent weekly updates to a friend completed their goals, twice the percentage of those who didn’t share" (Lipman, 2020, 64%, citing Gardener & Albee, 2015). This research was based on 149 completing participants from businesses and business networking groups (75% women, 25% men) from a range of nations (USA, Belgium, England, India, Australia and Japan) and including "entrepreneurs, educators, healthcare professionals, artists, attorneys, bankers, marketers, human services providers, managers, vice presidents, directors of non-profits" (Matthews, 2007, p. 1). The participants were asked to have a goal to work towards over four weeks, and were randomly assigned to one of five groups (see the image accompanying this post for group details; Matthews, 2007).

All participants were asked to rate their goal "on the following dimensions: Difficulty, Importance, the extent to which they had the Skills & Resources to accomplish the goal, their Commitment and Motivation to the goal, whether or not they had Pursued this goal before and if so [what] their Prior Success" had been (Matthews, 2007, p. 1). Groups one to three worked solo. Group one only had to think about the goal and the survey, while Group two and three wrote their goals. Groups four and five had a buddy to work with. And it was groups four and five where participants got much closer to achieving their goals than any of the other groups. 

If we share our ideas and goals with someone else, we are more likely to achieve them. If we only think about our dreams, we are likely to do nothing. If we tell someone we are likely to get feedback on our ideas. And that will help us to take action to turn our dreams into reality (Lipman, 2020).

Sam

References:

Gardner, S., & Albee, D. (2015). Study focuses on strategies for achieving goals, resolutions [Press Release #266]. https://scholar.dominican.edu/news-releases/266

Lipman, J. (2023). Next! The power of reinvention in life and work [ePub]. Mariner Books.

Matthews, G. (2007). Harvard Goals Research Summary. https://www.dominican.edu/sites/default/files/2020-02/gailmatthews-harvard-goals-researchsummary.pdf