Outcome Based vs Task Based: 10 Evidence-Based Coaching Practices
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Outcome Based vs Task Based, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
About 1 minute
Try it here: is your goal an outcome or a task?
Pick the kind of goal this is. An outcome is a result you can judge; a task is something you can check off.
What kind of goal is this?
Practices that may help
- Distinguish outcomes from tasks when setting your three
An outcome is a result you can evaluate; a task is an activity you can check off — only outcomes tell you whether the day succeeded.
The Rule of Three for Productivity, Made Practical - Debrief against process goals, not just the outcome
After performance, evaluate whether you executed your process goals before evaluating the result.
Process vs. Outcome Goals in Sport and Performance - Understand the three-goal hierarchy: outcome, performance, process
Use all three goal types — but know which one to focus on during execution.
Process Goals, Made Practical - Process vs. Outcome Goals in Sport and Performance
Outcome goals (winning, achieving a score) set direction but are only partially within a performer’s control. Process goals (executing specific actions or maintaining specific focus) are fully controllable and directly drive the behaviors that produce outcomes. Sport psychology research indicates that process and performance goals produce better results under pressure than outcome goals alone — because they direct attention to what can actually be influenced in the moment. - Keep OKRs separate from your task list
OKRs say where you are going; your to-do list says what you do today — do not merge them.
OKRs for People, Not Just Companies - Think in scenarios and stories, not task lists
Describe your ideal outcome for a period as a short narrative before breaking it into actions.
Getting Results the Agile Way (AGS), Made Practical - Delegate the outcome, not the procedure
Define what "done" looks like and why it matters, then leave the how to them.
Effective Delegation, Made Practical - Filter goals through the controllability test
Only set goals for actions you can directly control — not for outcomes that depend on others or luck.
Process Goals, Made Practical - Review process goal execution separately from outcomes after each performance
Evaluate how well you executed your process goals independently of whether you won or lost.
Process Goals, Made Practical - Specify target behaviors precisely before designing any reward system
Contingency management fails when the target behavior is fuzzy — define exactly what earns the reward, in observable terms.
Contingency Management and Token Economies
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I check off a whole list of tasks and still end the day feeling like nothing real got done
- It went well so I assumed I did everything right and moved on
- I’ve only ever set myself one kind of goal
- I end most days having crushed my to-do list and feeling productive, but somehow the thing I actually care about hasn’t budged
- My to-do list just keeps swelling with everything that could be done, and with no clear picture of what "done" even looks like at the end, I have no way to tell what actually deserves to be on it.
Related concerns
- Outcome Vs Task
An outcome is a result you can evaluate; a task is an activity you can check off — only outcomes tell you whether the day succeeded.
Distinguish outcomes from tasks when setting your three
- Difference Between Goals And Outcomes
Outcome goals (winning, achieving a score) set direction but are only partially within a performer’s control. Process goals (executing specific actions or maintaining specific focus) are fully controllable and directly drive the behaviors that produce outcomes. Sport psychology research indicates that process and performance goals produce better results under pressure than outcome goals alone — because they direct attention to what can actually be influenced in the moment.
- Outcomes Vs Outputs
An outcome is a result you can evaluate; a task is an activity you can check off — only outcomes tell you whether the day succeeded.
- Process Goals Vs Outcome Goals
Outcome goals (winning, achieving a score) set direction but are only partially within a performer’s control. Process goals (executing specific actions or maintaining specific focus) are fully controllable and directly drive the behaviors that produce outcomes. Sport psychology research indicates that process and performance goals produce better results under pressure than outcome goals alone — because they direct attention to what can actually be influenced in the moment.
- Process Objectives Vs Outcome Objectives
Outcome goals (winning, achieving a score) set direction but are only partially within a performer’s control. Process goals (executing specific actions or maintaining specific focus) are fully controllable and directly drive the behaviors that produce outcomes. Sport psychology research indicates that process and performance goals produce better results under pressure than outcome goals alone — because they direct attention to what can actually be influenced in the moment.
- Results Vs Process Management
Evaluate how well you executed your process goals independently of whether you won or lost.
Review process goal execution separately from outcomes after each performance
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.