Team goals describe a result the whole team achieves together; individual goals describe what one person owns and how they will grow. Managers often ask which to set. The answer is both, designed to work together. Team goals make people collaborate towards a shared result. Individual goals make sure everyone knows their specific contribution. Get the balance wrong and you either get silos or free-riders.
What team goals do well
- Encourage collaboration. People help each other when success is shared.
- Reflect reality. Most important outcomes, such as customer satisfaction or a product launch, need several people.
- Build identity. A shared goal gives a team a common purpose.
What individual goals do well
- Create accountability. Everyone knows what they own.
- Support development. Goals can be tailored to each person's skills and career.
- Make reviews fair. You can assess individual contribution.
Did you know? In the 1880s French engineer Maximilien Ringelmann found that as more people pulled on a rope together, each person pulled less hard. The "Ringelmann effect" is an early example of social loafing, and a reason team goals work best when individual contributions are visible.
How to combine them
1. Start with the team goal. What must the team achieve together this year? Keep it to two or three goals linked to company priorities.
2. Break down contributions. For each team goal, agree what each person will own. "Reduce customer churn by 10%" might split into onboarding improvements, a new check-in call process and better reporting.
3. Add one personal development goal per person that builds their skills.
4. Make dependencies explicit. If one person's goal depends on another's, say so.
Example
Team goal: Launch the new client portal by 30 June with 60% of clients using it by September.
- Developer: Deliver the core features by 31 May.
- Account manager: Train 50 key clients on the portal by August.
- Analyst: Build a usage dashboard and report weekly from launch.
Review measures and trade-offs
The example above works because each individual measure feeds the team measure. Here is the same idea for a customer service team, with the measures written out:
| Level | Goal | Measure | Trade-off to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Improve customer satisfaction this quarter | Satisfaction score from 78% to 85% | Speed at the expense of quality |
| Individual (adviser) | Resolve more issues on the first contact | First-contact resolution from 60% to 70% | Rushing calls to hit the number |
| Individual (team lead) | Coach each adviser fortnightly | Every adviser has 6 coaching sessions logged | Sessions held but not useful |
| Individual (analyst) | Show what drives dissatisfaction | Monthly report on the top five complaint reasons | Reporting without action |
Three checks keep the system honest:
- Does every individual goal clearly contribute to a team goal? If not, ask why it exists.
- Could someone hit their individual goal while the team goal fails? If so, add a quality measure or change the goal.
- Is anyone's success only possible if someone else fails? Competing individual targets inside one team usually damage collaboration.
Review both levels together, monthly or quarterly. When priorities change, change the team goal first, then the individual goals that feed it.
Setting goals when you are new to management
New managers often either copy the company's targets straight down or let everyone set their own. Neither works well. Spend time in one-to-ones understanding each person's strengths and ambitions, then connect them to team goals. Our guide on questions managers should ask during goal setting gives you a script, and how to communicate goals to your team covers the rollout.
Goals across departments
When goals cross teams, such as marketing and sales sharing a revenue target, agree shared metrics and hand-off points in writing. Otherwise each team optimises its own number. For a worked example in hiring, see how to set recruitment goals.
Related reading
- Leadership and management subject guide: who leadership training suits, workload, fees and the articles to read next
- Delegation and action plan: a worked delegation and a 30/60/90-day template
The bottom line
Use team goals for shared outcomes, individual goals for ownership and development, and make the link between them clear. To develop your leadership and management skills further, including performance culture and motivation, see our Mastering Leadership and Management course, or our Business Planning and Goal Setting course for the planning side.