The SMART framework is a well-established method to ensure goals are:

• Specific. Clearly define what you want to accomplish.
• Measurable. Quantify progress to know when the goal is achieved.
• Achievable. Set a realistic target that the team can reach.
• Relevant. Align the goal with broader organizational objectives.
• Time-bound. Establish a clear deadline.

For example, instead of saying, “Increase sales this year,” a SMART goal would be, “Increase Q1 sales revenue by 10 percent by implementing targeted marketing campaigns and hosting monthly team check-ins.” This level of clarity ensures alignment, accountability, and a clear roadmap for action.

But SMART goals have their limitations. By focusing on realism and attainability, they may inadvertently cap creativity and ambition. This is where stretch goals come into play.

Stretch Goals: Encouraging Innovation and Excellence

Stretch goals are ambitious objectives that push teams beyond their comfort zones. While SMART goals establish a solid foundation, stretch goals challenge employees to think innovatively and strive for exceptional results.

For instance, if your SMART goal is to reduce customer onboarding time by 20 percent within six months, a complementary stretch goal might be to redesign the onboarding process entirely, reducing time by 50 percent while improving customer satisfaction ratings. Even if the team doesn’t fully achieve the stretch goal, the process often leads to breakthroughs that surpass the original SMART target.

Why Stretch Goals Work

Stretch goals, when combined with clear support and resources, can unlock untapped potential and foster a culture of continuous improvement. However, you need to approach stretch goals with care. Overly aggressive targets without a solid foundation can overwhelm teams, leading to burnout and diminished morale.

Common Goal-Setting Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Understanding what can go wrong is as important as knowing what to do right. Here are common pitfalls managers face in goal setting and strategies to avoid them.

1. Setting Goals in Isolation

The mistake: managers often set goals without consulting their teams, leading to misaligned priorities and lack of buy-in.

The fix: collaborate with team members during the goal-setting process. Incorporate their insights and ensure goals reflect their capabilities and aspirations. When employees feel ownership, they are more motivated to succeed.

2. Making Goals Too Vague or Overly Complex

The mistake: goals like “Improve communication” or “Achieve better results” lack clarity, while overly intricate goals can confuse and overwhelm.

The fix: break goals into clear, manageable components. SMART goals naturally prevent vagueness, while stretch goals’ ambition should still be accompanied by a detailed action plan.

3. Ignoring the “Why” Behind Goals

The mistake: employees disengage when they don’t understand the purpose or value of their objectives.

The fix: communicate the “why” behind each goal. Explain how it ties into team and organizational success, and why it matters to individual growth.

4. Failing to Adapt Goals Mid-Year

The mistake: treating goals as static can lead to irrelevance when circumstances change.

The fix: schedule regular goal check-ins (e.g., quarterly reviews) to evaluate progress and adjust as needed. Flexibility ensures goals remain aligned with evolving priorities.

5. Neglecting to Celebrate Milestones

The mistake: managers often focus so much on end results that they overlook progress along the way.

The fix: acknowledge achievements, even partial ones, to sustain morale and momentum. Celebrating small wins fosters a sense of accomplishment and encourages continued effort.

Combining SMART and Stretch Goals: A Practical Framework

To balance realism and ambition, use the following approach:

1. Set a SMART goal first. Begin with a clear, actionable objective that addresses immediate priorities.
2. Layer in a stretch goal. Identify an aspirational target that extends the SMART goal beyond conventional boundaries. Make it ambitious but not impossible.
3. Provide support and resources. Ensure teams have the tools, time and training needed to tackle stretch goals effectively.
4. Monitor progress regularly. Establish checkpoints to evaluate both SMART and stretch goal progress. Use these sessions to offer guidance, adjust expectations, and celebrate milestones.

The Bottom Line: Drive Success Through Intentional Goal Setting

Effective goal setting is both an art and a science. By leveraging SMART goals to establish a solid foundation, and introducing stretch goals to spark innovation, managers can inspire their teams to achieve extraordinary results. Avoid common pitfalls by prioritizing collaboration, clarity, adaptability, and celebration. As you plan for the year ahead, remember that goals are not just tasks to complete but opportunities to unlock potential. Approach the process with intent, and your team will be well equipped to turn vision into reality.

What’s Next?

For more in-depth info on goal setting, try our article SMART Goals. And if you want to know how you currently rate at setting goals, try our assessment, How Good Is Your Goal Setting? And if you're worried about potential pitfalls, check out our video, 8 Goal-Setting Mistakes to Avoid.

Tip of the Week

Generating Creative Ideas

By Melanie Bell, Mindtools Content Writer and Editor

Setting new goals goes hand in hand with generating fresh ideas. Here are a few top tips on encouraging creative thinking within your team:

1. Believe in yourself. How many times have I heard someone say “I’m not creative?” Anyone can have creative ideas. It’s a skill that can be developed, like any other.
2. Build in downtime. Creative ideas often come from the “mind wandering” that happens when we’re thinking about something else, or not thinking at all. I like to take walks when I’m blocked creatively. Doing physical tasks and ensuring plenty of rest are also helpful.
3. Vary your environment. I like to move around and work in different locations to spark inspiration.
4. Minimize interruptions. It’s helpful to find somewhere quiet, when you can get into a flow state and turn off digital distractions like beeping phones.
5. Have fun! Team-building activities and relaxed, playful interactions can help to foster creativity, too.

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News Roundup

This Week's Global Workplace Insights

2025's Employee Benefits

As Worklife reports, employee benefit packages appear likely to become more creative and personalized in 2025.

As Gen Z becomes the largest demographic in the working world, their values and interests will increasingly inform benefits offered. And this generation finds incentive in “immediate value and growth opportunities,” says KeyAnna Schmiedl of employee recognition company Workhuman.

What would this look like in practice? Think customized wellness programs (including mental health support), continued fine tuning of hybrid working options such as four-day work weeks, family benefits that may include pet health insurance, and assessment of benefits packages year round to ensure they align with employee needs.

Research-Backed Ways to Beat Burnout

With disengagement and stress at high levels in the workplace, recent research from MIT offers a model to support your team in beating burnout.

It suggests that managers design and improve roles by following the acronym “SMART”:

• Stimulating work: Offer variety and opportunity to use skills and solve meaningful problems.
• Mastery: Employee roles should be clear, with concrete feedback and a sense of the bigger picture.
• Autonomy: Work should permit personal influence over schedules, decision making, and work methods.
• Relational work: People need to belong and connect with team members and know they are making a difference.
• Tolerable demands: Tasks should be manageable within working hours, with low conflict between work and home or within the role.

You can use the SMART model to diagnose workplace issues using data collection methods, such as employee surveys, interviews and observations, and follow up your learning with interventions to better support your team.

See you next week for more member-exclusive content and insight from the Mindtools team!