Have you considered the dark side of goal setting?
Setting ambitious goals can increase performance because people are more focused and persistent.
There is, however, also a dark side to goal setting.
More and more research finds that high-performance goals can elicit unethical behavior. Especially when people are close to reaching the goal—but are at risk of falling short.
Think about a car salesman who is about to reach his quarterly target. He needs to sell 10 more cars, but time is running out.
Think about a researcher who needs 1 more publication to obtain his Ph.D. But his scholarship only covers 5 more months of salary.
Think about the CEO of the bank who set the audacious goal of becoming the market leader within 3 years. 2 years down the road, the bank is still in 3rd place.
These are 3 situations where the likelihood of unethical behavior increases. Leadership is needed to talk about the kind of goals we set, and how we continuously learn in the process of reaching those goals.
Source:
Schweitzer, M. E., Ordóñez, L., & Douma, B. (2004). Goal setting as a motivator of unethical behavior. Academy of Management Journal, 47(3), 422-432.