1. Identify your key tasks. Goal setting begins by defining what it is that you want to accomplish.

2. Establish specific and challenging goals for each key task. Identify the level of performance expected. Specify the target toward which you will work.

3. Specify the deadlines for each goal. Putting deadlines on each goal reduces ambiguity. Deadlines, however, should not be set arbitrarily. Rather, they need to be realistic, given the tasks to be completed.

4. Allow the employee to participate actively. When employees participate in goal setting, they are more likely to accept the goals. However, it must be sincere participation. That is, employees must perceive that you are truly seeking their input, not just going through the motions.

5. Prioritize goals. When you have more than one goal, its important for you to rank the goals in order of importance. The purpose of prioritizing is to encourage you to take action and expend effort on each goal in proportion to its importance.

6. Rate goals for difficulty and importance. Goal setting should not encourage people to choose easy goals. Instead, goals should be rated for their difficulty and importance. When goals are rated, individuals can be given credit for trying difficult goals, even if they dont fully achieve them. 162 Part 2 Striving for Performance OB at Work

7. Build in feedback mechanisms to assess goal progress. Feedback lets you know whether your level of effort is sufficient to attain the goal. Feedback should be frequent and recurring.

8. Link rewards to goal attainment. Linking rewards to the achievement of goals will help motivate you