Setting Coaching Goals That Stick: Beyond SMART

SMART goals are not the problem. They are just not enough.

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound. It is a solid framework for project management. For coaching? It tends to produce goals that are technically correct and deeply uninspiring. “Complete a leadership development programme by Q3.” “Have three difficult conversations per month.” “Improve my delegation score by 0.5 points on the next 360.”

These goals tick every SMART box. They also have the motivational power of a compliance checklist.

Why SMART goals fall flat in coaching

The issue is not the framework itself. The issue is what it optimises for. SMART goals prioritise clarity and measurability, which is useful. But coaching goals need to do something more: they need to connect to who a person wants to become, not just what they want to achieve.

When a coachee says “I want to be a better leader,” the SMART instinct is to immediately make it specific and measurable. And that is appropriate, eventually. But jumping to specifics too quickly can strip the goal of its emotional weight. The coachee cares about becoming a better leader because of something deeper. Maybe they watched their own manager fail the team. Maybe they have a vision of the kind of culture they want to build. Maybe they are terrified of being found out as a fraud.

That depth is where motivation lives. Skip it, and you get goals that people write down, forget about, and retroactively justify at the end of the programme.

What works better

The most effective coaching goals we have seen share a few qualities that SMART does not explicitly address.

They connect to identity. “I want to be the kind of leader who makes people feel heard” is more powerful than “I want to improve my active listening skills.” Both might lead to similar actions, but the first one taps into something personal. Identity-connected goals are harder to abandon because walking away from them feels like walking away from who you want to be.

They are emotionally honest. Good coaching goals often start with an uncomfortable admission. “I avoid conflict and it is hurting my team.” “I micromanage because I do not trust anyone to do it as well as I would.” Goals that acknowledge a real tension are far stickier than goals that sound polished and safe.

They describe behaviour, not just outcomes. Outcomes matter, but behaviour is what you can actually control. “I will pause and ask a question before offering my opinion in meetings” is a behavioural goal. You can practise it tomorrow. “Improve my coaching leadership style” is an outcome goal. Where do you even start?

They evolve. A goal set in session one should not look identical in session eight. If the coachee has not refined, expanded, or occasionally scrapped their goals during the engagement, something is wrong. Goals should be living things, not fixed contracts.

How to structure the conversation

Goal-setting in coaching is not a one-off activity at the start of the engagement. It is a recurring conversation. But that first goal-setting session matters a lot, because it sets the tone.

Here is an approach that works well:

Start wide. Ask what success looks like, not in measurable terms, but in felt terms. “If this coaching really works, what is different about your life in six months?” Let the coachee paint a picture before you narrow it down.

Explore the why. For every goal that surfaces, ask why it matters. Then ask again. And probably once more. The first answer is usually rational and surface-level. The real motivation tends to be two or three layers down.

Name the tension. What is getting in the way right now? What habit, belief, or pattern keeps pulling the coachee back to their current state? A goal without an acknowledged obstacle is just a wish.

Make it behavioural. Once you have the deeper goal, translate it into specific behaviours. What will the coachee actually do differently, starting this week? This is where a bit of SMART thinking is genuinely helpful. Keep the identity goal as the north star, but define concrete actions as the path.

Revisit regularly. Check in on goals every few sessions. Not just “are you making progress?” but “is this still the right goal?” People change through coaching. Their goals should change too.

A word on organisational goals

When coaching is sponsored by an organisation, there are often predefined objectives. “Develop leadership pipeline.” “Improve cross-functional collaboration.” These organisational goals are real and they matter. But they are the sponsor’s goals, not necessarily the coachee’s.

The skill is in finding the overlap. Where does the organisation’s need and the individual’s aspiration meet? That intersection is where the most powerful coaching goals live. A coachee who genuinely wants to grow as a leader and whose organisation needs stronger leadership will do far more meaningful work than one who is ticking boxes to satisfy HR.

Goals are not the point

This might sound contradictory in an article about goal-setting, but the goals themselves are not really the point. The point is the self-awareness, motivation, and behavioural change that good goals create. A well-crafted goal is a tool for growth, not a deliverable.

Set goals that make your coachees feel something. That is when the real work begins.