Setting goals is a process that helps guide you through the steps and decisions necessary to accomplish your objective. Therefore, different types of goals allow you to prioritise and plan how to achieve your goals, optimise your professional development and enhance your performance. Understanding process and outcome goals can help you identify, set and maintain goals so you can complete them and grow professionally.
Goal v/s outcome
A goal is something you desire to achieve or realise.
A result is the outcome or consequence of a certain course of action.
The goal is what you intend to do, while a result is what actually happens as a result of your actions.
For example, if your goal is to receive a promotion, the result might be that you receive some kind of promotion. The actual result can come in many variations, such as, with an increase in responsibility, or an increase in salary, or with additional bonus, or moving to a different department, or moving to a different branch, and so on.
It is important to note that the result of a particular action is not always what was intended or expected. For example, if someone has the goal of securing a higher salary through promotion, but ends up being relocated to a different branch with higher commuting or living costs, the result would not be purposeful.
In summary, a goal is something you intend to achieve, while a result is the outcome or outcome of a particular action. So, goal is the blue print and the outcome is the final result.
The processes you follow are therefore important to your desired goal. Think of your process as the step-by-step plan of action to get you to your goal.
In the ICM programme, focus is placed both on goals and outcomes, along with processes, and the balance will vary depending on your goals.
For example, if your goal is to secure a promotion to ensure a higher salary, then processes to meet the outcome of higher salary will be more important. On the other hand, if your goal is to secure a promotion only (of any kind), you may find you have various options and processes that will take you to your goal.
Therefore, goals can be categorised as outcome goals or process goals.
Outcome goals
Your outcome goal is a singular, long-term, overarching goal that focuses on a specific outcome. For example, securing a higher position in one years’ time, earn an award, and so on.
Outcome goals focus on what you want to achieve rather than how you plan to achieve it. These goals are more abstract or broad, so they are typically less measurable and controllable. Setting an outcome goal allows you to evaluate your current performance and intended performance results to build an outline that directs you towards an outcome. Having an outcome goal allows you to create a plan, sometimes using process goals, to progress toward the larger outcome.
Process goals
Process goals are short-term, detailed goals you set to reach your desired action. For example, create a success list for each week, delegate tasks, complete a three-month certification.
Process goals are specific and you can consider them as sub-goals or steps to a larger overarching goal. Process goals are particularly beneficial when the outcome goal is vague or difficult to define; process goals help you more accurately specify and communicate your outcome goals to your team members, supervisors or important decision-makers and stakeholders.
Since process goals are smaller than outcome goals, they typically have fewer moving parts. This makes process goals concrete and may lead to higher rates of success.
Outcome goals v/s process goals
Goal-setting is very important in the workplace since it helps people progress, accomplish tasks and reach milestones. Knowing the difference between process and outcome goals can equip you to differentiate which type of goal you need for a certain project or situation.
Since process goals are small goals, they are easier to focus on and to be prioritised. You can also easily control them and adjust them. For example, the methods and tools you use can change as you learn better ways to reach your smaller goals. The flexibility to adjust process goals, helps you adapt to more effective ways of reaching them. It is also easier to enforce specified or measurable results for process goals. Therefore, you have more control over process goals.
Process goals take a shorter time to accomplish, you therefore get a feeling of more frequent accomplishments, and this enhances your motivation to pursue other process goals in pursuit of your bigger, long-term outcome goal.
Impact Coaching & Mentoring (ICM) for Leaders 