Setting Sharp Leadership Goals
A leaders imperative for the year ahead
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In the early part of the year, reflection is natural - on the successes and challenges of the past 12 months and on what needs to happen next. As a CEO, founder, or senior leader, this is the time to sharpen your focus, align your leadership team, and set the stage for the year ahead.
Goal setting might seem like a routine task- after all, experienced leaders should know what needs to be done. But in my work with executive teams, I consistently see an overlooked opportunity: using goal setting as a strategic leadership tool, not just a tactical necessity.
One founder and CEO I coach, who leads a remote-first tech company, shared that in the early days of his business, he didn’t feel the need to set structured goals for his leadership team. They were highly skilled, domain experts, and aligned with the board’s strategic direction. He assumed that was enough.
But as the company scaled, small deviations from the plan emerged - minor at first but eventually significant enough to impact performance. It became clear that while everyone thought they were on the same page, there were gaps in execution, ownership, and accountability.
This is a familiar pattern. At a senior level, there’s often an unspoken assumption that leaders shouldn’t need direction. They are experienced, capable, and autonomous. But while micromanagement stifles performance, under-management can be equally damaging.
But leadership requires clarity and accountability. As leaders, we want to trust those we lead. We don’t want to feel as though we’re interfering or undermining their expertise. However, leadership is not just about delegation - it’s about setting expectations, ensuring alignment, and holding people to account.
Goals setting at a leadership level naturally isn’t going to be the same as for other team members.
Goals likely won’t need to be highly detailed or tactical.
But they do need to be clear and specific.
Research by Edwin Locke, one of the leading theorists in goal setting, tells us that specific goals inspire higher performance levels than broad aims or a "give it your best" approach.
And Arnold H. Glasgow put it: "In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are."
A major challenge is that unclear goals often go unnoticed until it’s too late. The ‘set and forget’ approach - where broad ambitions are set at the start of the year but are not revisited - leads to drift.
When immediate demands take over, long-term priorities fade into the background. If leadership goals are not consistently reinforced, they become secondary to the relentless pace of day-to-day operations.
The solution isn’t adding more complexity; it’s about making goal setting simple, intentional, visible, and directly tied to performance.
With that in mind, if you want to drive clarity and accountability this year, here are five exercises to refine your leadership goal-setting approach.
Reflect: The way you engage with goals will shape the culture of your executive team. Take a moment and consider:
How does your leadership style influence how you set and track goals?
Are you more focused on outcomes or process? Quick wins or long term gains?
How do you hold yourself accountable, and what signals does that send to your team?
When goals aren’t being met, what’s your default response?
Leadership teams tend to mirror their CEO. If your goals lack clarity or accountability, chances are theirs do too.
Delegate: Instead of dictating goals, involve your executive team in the process. Ask each of your leaders to define:
Their top 3-5 priority goals.
How these align with the company’s strategic plan.
What needs to stop, start, or change to enable execution.
The key results or metrics that define success.
How progress will be tracked and reviewed.
This shifts goal setting from a top-down exercise to one that creates real ownership. The bonus? Leaders are more invested in delivering when they’ve defined the objectives themselves.
Focus: Business goals are just one part of the equation. If your company is evolving, so must your leaders. But too often, we focus solely on business metrics and neglect the leadership growth required to achieve them. Ask your team:
What will it take to inspire and enable their teams to deliver?
What leadership shifts will be required?
Where do they need to stretch or develop?
What one or two personal leadership goals should they set to drive this transformation?
Lead: If you expect your leaders to set clear goals, start with your own leadership team. Consider:
What are the most critical shifts your executive team needs to make this year?
What collective leadership goals will drive that shift?
How will you communicate these goals across the business?
An aligned executive team is a force multiplier. Without clarity at the top, alignment across the organisation is impossible.
Refresh: The irony of goal setting is that while most leaders are familiar with frameworks like SMART goals, they are rarely used well. When they are, they often become overly complicated.
This doesn’t need to be difficult. Even a two-minute refresh can help ensure goals are clear, concrete, and measurable.
If you need a refresher, this super short Khan Academy video (2:53 mins) for children is the best I’ve found to simplify the process.
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