Humans have done some pretty amazing things — landing a man on the moon, creating the internet, and mapping the human genome, for example. Working backward from those pretty lofty feats, what we don’t see are the myriad of smaller steps, objectives, and tasks that it took to achieve those ambitions. Rather, each of these was the byproduct of setting incremental goals that laddered up to larger goals and set the stage for success.

Recognizing (and Sharing) the Power of Small Steps

Leaders often paint the picture of breaking a large goal into smaller, achievable steps, helping their team to more easily make progress and stay motivated along the way. Setting incremental goals can help everyone stay on track and avoid feeling overwhelmed by the bigger objective.

 But there’s another, less often discussed benefit to consider — incremental goals allow for the unknown to be discovered, the ineffective to be replaced, and new ideas to flourish.

The people behind the moon landing certainly didn’t have all the answers upfront. Rather, they had a general idea of what they wanted to happen, then took smaller (albeit sometimes fuzzy) steps in that direction.

Though we like to think about goal-setting as creating a clear plan with neat and tidy steps laid out on a map, the reality is that goal-setting isn’t always so clean. You don’t always know what those next steps are to reach your ambitions. But you can get closer to the truth when you take baby steps rather than running and leaping to your bigger priorities.

You’ll have more time to spot and solve potential issues along the way. You’ll stay more focused on things that matter when you have fewer things to focus on. And you can take your time getting all the right pieces into place before attempting your next objective.

Incremental Goal-Setting Methodologies to Adapt and Conquer

Effective leaders aren’t just the ones who get things done and collect the accolades. They’re also the ones who enable and empower their teams to achieve their own goals, grow their expertise, and contribute to the company’s objectives.

 Let’s explore three incremental goal-setting methodologies that leaders and their teams can use to improve their goal setting and outcomes.

The Rule of 5

The “Rule of 5” is one of the simplest methodologies to apply to incremental goals. Choose five specific things that will help you move closer to your goal. Doing those five things don’t have to result in a mastered goal. But they should help you make progress toward the goal or at least give you clarity on what to do next.

Start with your main objective. Then, list out five (just five) actions you can take with the resources you have. Start knocking out those five things one by one. Make notes along the way so you don’t lose any new ideas that might contribute to reaching the goal.

Focusing on only five tasks at a time can help you to avoid scope creep and confusion along the way. Once you complete those five tasks, reassess your status so you can see how close you are to reach the goal. Then, rinse and repeat as much as necessary until you achieve your goal.

The Practice of Anti-Goal Setting

Anti-goal setting is a relatively new concept in professional development. It flips the traditional idea of goal-setting on its head, and instead focuses on what not to do vs. what you should be doing.

Think about the worst-case scenarios that might derail your goals. It could be running out of supplies, not having the right skills, days full of meetings that prevent any real work from being done — anything that will help you avoid a worst-case scenario.

 Setting these rules will help you block out the things that could make your goals unachievable. For example, if meetings consume too much of your time, you could aim to reduce the number of meetings or avoid in-person meetings when the same results could be accomplished by email.

Themed Goal Setting

Themes help to create focus and clarity around a specific topic. We see this at work in restaurants, amusement parks, parties, and events, where all of the visual elements, messaging, food, and other components relate back to a core topic. All of these elements work together to create a singular experience.

The same can be applied to goal setting. With so many different moving parts, it’s not always easy to connect them to the same objective. Creating a theme around your incremental goals can help to pull each activity into focus, emphasize its importance, and keep you on track.

Leading with Incremental Goals for a Productive New Year

Setting effective goals doesn’t mean having everything figured out to a T. When you set incremental goals, you’re also leaving room for creativity and learning — both of which are essential to the process and the outcome.

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