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."

Why it works

On complex or novel tasks, setting a specific performance outcome too early directs attention to outcomes before the person has the strategies to achieve them, producing anxiety rather than adaptation. Learning goals ("identify three effective approaches") direct attention toward strategy acquisition, which is the actual bottleneck. Once strategies are in place, performance goals become productive.

How to do it

1. Before setting a performance target, ask: "Do I already know how to do this well?"
2. If no: set a learning goal — a specific number of strategies or approaches to identify and test.
3. Once you have tested at least two approaches and have a working method, shift to a performance goal.
4. Keep the learning and performance phases explicitly separate.

Evidence

Seijts and Latham’s experimental research found that learning goals outperformed specific performance goals on complex novel tasks, with the advantage attributed to strategy development that performance goals inadvertently suppressed. (rct)

The advantage of learning goals is most pronounced in early-stage or genuinely complex tasks; for well-practised skills, performance goals remain superior.

Sources

• Seijts & Latham (2001), "Learning versus performance goals: When should each be used?", Academy of Management Executive

Common mistake

Jumping to an ambitious performance target on a skill you have not yet learned, then interpreting early failure as lack of talent rather than a sequencing error.