The 4 ways a goal can break
Value or desire and belief work independently, so most failed goals are missing just one:
High value, low belief: You care, but you don't trust yourself to pull it off, so you quit at the first setback instead of adjusting expectations and recalibrating plans.
High belief, low value: You could hit this goal without much trouble. But that’s part of the problem… nothing is at stake, so it keeps losing to whatever feels more urgent or higher priority that day, week, or month.
Low value, low belief: This is what we call Dead On Arrival. This is the goal you wrote down because someone asked you to have one, not because you care.
High value, high belief: This is where a goal really starts to take hold, and it's the combination that’s worth building toward with the backing of your team.
One reliable way to raise value is to change what the goal is pointed at. A goal built around avoiding something bad has very low pull. A goal built around creating something you want has a very strong pull.
For example, “Stop losing my best people” is fear-based. It's vague and exhausting to hold onto. But, “Build a team people fight to get on” is a vision. You can see it, and you'll work for it on the days motivation alone simply won't carry you.
Change is constant. Conflict doesn't have to be.
Reorgs. Shifting priorities. A pace of change that would've taken years even a decade ago. None of that is slowing down, and neither is the tension that comes with it: missed expectations, hard conversations, people digging in instead of moving through.
This group coaching session will help you lead through it: how to handle conflict without the drama, keep trust intact when plans shift again, and move your team from resistance to buy-in.
Raise belief: Ask the same 5 questions
Belief doesn't grow from a pep talk. It grows from evidence that the plan is working, or from catching it early when it isn't. This is why the same five questions show up everywhere in our Leader as Coach program, from the goal setting session to building a coaching culture:
What do I want?
What am I doing to get it?
Is it working?
What are some alternatives I could consider?
What am I going to do?
You don't need to believe you'll succeed on day one. You just need a way to find out you're off course before the goal peters out.
Your #1 to-do this week
Pick one goal you're chasing right now, at work or personally. Name which piece is weaker: value or belief.
If it's value, rewrite the goal as something you're moving toward instead of away from.
If it's belief, run it through the five questions above with someone you trust this week.
Let us know how it’s going by replying to this email directly!
We’re on your side,
Lauran Arledge
Founder, Bold Font
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