Stretch Goals: When Ambitious Targets Help and When They Backfire

The research behind ambitious targets, their real boundary conditions, and how to apply them safely

Do stretch goals actually improve performance, and when do they hurt?

Stretch goals — targets set well beyond current performance — are among the most studied interventions in motivation research. When organisations or individuals have sufficient resources and a history of prior success, stretch goals improve performance; when resources are depleted or the capability gap is too large, they reliably increase risk-taking, cheating, and demoralisation. The "always stretch" advice ignores this important boundary condition.

Edwin Locke and Gary Latham’s goal-setting theory is among the most replicated bodies of work in organisational psychology: difficult, specific goals consistently outperform vague or easy ones. But the "stretch goal" extension — setting targets drastically beyond current capability — has a more complicated empirical record. More recent research, including a critical review by Sitkin and colleagues, shows stretch goals outperform only under specific conditions. The practices below reflect that more nuanced picture.