Coaching practices for I'm Told to Go Do the Thing but I've Never Actually Seen What Doing it Well Looks Like So I'm Flailing with No Picture of the Target I Can't Even Tell Whether My Own Attempts Are Close or Way Off Because I Have Nothing to Measure Them Against
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For I'm Told to Go Do the Thing but I've Never Actually Seen What Doing it Well Looks Like So I'm Flailing with No Picture of the Target I Can't Even Tell Whether My Own Attempts Are Close or Way Off Because I Have Nothing to Measure Them Against, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I’m told to go do the thing but I’ve never actually seen what doing it well looks like, so I’m flailing with no picture of the target
- I’m putting in the work but I honestly can’t tell if I’m getting better or just spinning my wheels
- I finish a rep and all I can say is "that felt off" or "that was okay"
- I genuinely can’t tell if what I produced is any good
- I keep grinding away at this without ever having really looked, in close detail, at what truly great looks like
Practices that may help
- Demonstrate the target performance before demanding it
Show what success looks like before asking the learner to produce it independently.
Scaffolding: The Art of Temporary Learning Support - Track performance goals with quantitative metrics
Measure progress toward performance goals with numbers you collect, not impressions.
Process Goals, Made Practical - Compare each practice attempt to your mental representation of the target
After every attempt, evaluate it against your internal model — not against how it felt.
Mental Representations: The Expert’s Internal Map - Structured reflection on performance
Systematically compare your performance to an expert model to build accurate self-assessment.
Cognitive Apprenticeship: Learning by Making Thinking Visible - Study models of excellent performance to build a representation of the target
Absorb what elite performance looks like in concrete detail before trying to produce it.
Mental Representations: The Expert’s Internal Map - Use learning goals (not performance goals) for novel tasks
For new or complex skills, set a goal around what you will learn, not what you will produce.
Goal Setting Theory, Made Practical - Set specific, hard goals rather than "do your best"
Replace vague aspirations with a precise, stretching target — this is the core lever.
Goal Setting Theory, Made Practical - Measurable — define how you will know progress
Attach a number or observable marker so progress is visible, not felt.
SMART Goals That Actually Move - Use contrast deliberately in self-assessment to calibrate motivation
Contrast your current state with where you were — not only with where you want to be — to see real progress.
The Contrast Principle, Made Practical - Use learning goals instead of performance goals on novel tasks
When the skill is new, a "figure out how to do X" goal outperforms "achieve X by date."
Stretch Goals: When Ambitious Targets Help and When They Backfire
Related concerns
- When Goal Setting Theory Assign Learning Goals For Complex Tasks
For new or complex skills, set a goal around what you will learn, not what you will produce.
Use learning goals (not performance goals) for novel tasks
- How To Set Detailed Performance Goals
A vague process goal ("try harder") is not a process goal — it must specify what to do with your body and attention.
Make process goals behaviorally specific enough to direct attention
- When Mental Representations Study Models Of Excellence
Absorb what elite performance looks like in concrete detail before trying to produce it.
Study models of excellent performance to build a representation of the target
- Act Progress Monitoring
Attach a number or observable marker so progress is visible, not felt.
Measurable — define how you will know progress
- Goal Progress Tracking
Visible progress toward a concrete endpoint is the direct mechanism — tracking is not just accountability, it’s the fuel.
Track progress in a way that shows remaining distance
- Goal Setting And Performance
Locke and Latham’s goal-setting theory holds that specific, difficult goals drive higher performance than vague or easy ones — provided the person is committed and has adequate ability. This is one of the most-replicated findings in organizational and performance psychology, with support across hundreds of studies spanning lab and field settings.
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.