Is the sum of your team’s goals more than your total goal?

Our reader poll today asks: When setting goals, is the sum of your team’s goals more than your total goal?

– All the time. It helps me hedge on hitting my goal: 39.6%
– Sometimes, but only for the most critical goals: 36.9%
– Rarely. I only do it in extreme cases: 9.4%
– Never. Their goals add up perfectly to my goal: 14.1%

Overallocation can be beneficial. The process of having subordinate goals add up to more than your group goal is called overallocation. Doing so can be beneficial. It stretches your team below you to deliver more while at the same time increasing the likelihood that you hit your team goals. But be careful: Too much overallocation of goals can frustrate your teams and make their goals unattainable. A few basic overallocation principles like using commit and stretch goals, ensuring goals are SMART, and explaining your approach to your team can go a long way toward making this a successful goal-setting strategy.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 210,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.