U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

Archive

Achieving Olympic Gold

Dan O'Brien. Tom Dolan. Amy Van Dyken. Michael Johnson. These athletes all won gold medals at the Atlanta Olympic games. What is their secret? Of course, training, fitness, and natural ability are major factors. But sports psychologists say that setting goals effectively can be the key to whether an athlete wins the gold medal or will even be in contention.

• Long- and Short-term Goals
• Federal Application
• Goal Setting

Long- and Short-term Goals. Long-range goals are important for any athlete, but especially for those with Olympic dreams. As Dan O'Brien explained in an interview prior to the Atlanta games, "If I don't wake up every day thinking I'm going to win the Olympic gold medal, I won't."

However, to achieve those long-range goals, it is also extremely important to establish activity-oriented, incremental goals. For example, in gymnastics, sports psychologists observe that excessive attention on the ultimate result helps explain why young gymnasts succumb to problems such as stress, eating disorders, and low self-esteem. This can happen in any sport when athletes don't feel a sense of accomplishment or fear of failure overcomes them. But by setting sharp, clearly defined short-term goals, athletes can measure their performance and take pride in the achievement of those goals. They can see forward progress in what might previously have seemed like a long, pointless grind. Keeping goals small and incremental also gives more opportunities for reward and celebration of goal achievement.

Sports psychologists advise athletes that they can set goals effectively by:

• phrasing them positively;
• defining them precisely;
• prioritizing multiple goals;
• writing them down;
• keeping them manageable (not too hard, but not too easy); and
• setting incremental, activity-based goals for improvement that are derived from long-term, results-focused goals.

Experts also explain that failure to meet goals is useful in improving performance and long-term success as long as the athlete draws useful lessons from it and feeds these back into his or her training program.

Federal Application. Can goalsetting techniques for athletes apply to setting performance goals for Federal employees? Yes!! If the principles of sports psychology were applied to the performance management process, performance plans would capture the long-term goals the results or accomplishments that employees should achieve during the year. In support of those goals, managers and employees would set short-term (i.e., daily, weekly, monthly) activity-based goals that are derived from the results-oriented elements and standards of the performance plan. Employees would be actively involved in setting goals, measuring their performance against the goals, and gathering and sharing feedback on performance.

An awards program that recognizes short-term as well as long-term goal achievement would also be more credible and effective as a tool for improving performance. Recognizing short-term goal achievement through informal recognition including a pat on the back and a word of congratulations from co-workers gives employees an additional opportunity to take pride in their work.

Goal Setting. The Olympic games should not only inspire athletes around the world to improve their athletic skills, but they should inspire all of us to set effective goals for ourselves, both at work and in our personal lives. Goal setting provides long-term vision for charting the path to your destination, and short-term motivation to help you take that next step.

Originally published on December 1996.