Goal Setting Training in Durham Region: How Teams Set Goals They Actually Hit
Every year, Durham Region managers tell me a version of the same story: the goals were set, the slides were shared, and by spring nobody could say where the team stood.
The goals were rarely wrong. Nobody owned them, nobody measured them weekly, and nobody changed course when the numbers drifted.
Direct answer: Goal setting training Durham teams can use teaches managers and their people to turn company strategy into a few written team goals, each one specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and tangible, with a baseline, named owners, dated action steps and a weekly tracking routine, so progress is visible and problems are caught early. Most missed goals fail on follow-through, not on ambition. At Gurley Leadership Solutions, I deliver this in person at your workplace through a proven program from Leadership Management International, customized to your organization.
Why Do So Many Team Goals Get Missed?
Most team goals are missed because people are not sure what is expected, who owns each step, or how progress will be measured. In a 2016 Gallup analysis, only about half of all workers strongly indicated that they know what is expected of them at work.
Over the years I have seen many organizations do a terrible job of implementing goals and holding their people to them. Some have no goals at all. Others set goals but put no emphasis on goal planning, follow-up and action items, so the goals become a checkbox exercise.
Leaders are then left to their own devices, and heroic efforts become normal as people react to day-to-day problems and crises. Goal setting training fixes the method, not the ambition.
What Are SMART Goals, and Which Version Should Your Team Use?
SMART goals are goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and tangible, which is the Leadership Management International version I teach. Most guides end it with relevant and time-bound instead; in this version, the deadline sits inside specific.
| Letter | What it means | Test question |
|---|---|---|
| Specific | Written down: what, how measured, by when | What exactly, by when? |
| Measurable | Outcomes that can be measured and tracked | Can we track it? |
| Achievable | A reasonable chance, judged by past results | Have we done close to this? |
| Realistic | Possible given markets and capabilities | Do markets and capacity allow it? |
| Tangible | A result that can be touched, seen or felt | How will we see it? |
SMART as Leadership Management International defines it.
Achievable matters more than most managers think: when a goal is out of reach, the people tied to it become disenchanted and morale suffers. Specific matters too. Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, reviewing 35 years of goal-setting studies in American Psychologist in 2002, found that "specific, difficult goals consistently led to higher performance than urging people to do their best."
How Do You Set Goals for a Team?
You set team goals by starting from the company's strategic plan and annual operating plan, writing each goal in SMART form, and giving it a baseline, an owner for every step and a tracking routine. These are the five steps I use with client teams:
- Align it. Tie each goal to your annual operating plan and the metrics and KPIs it depends on, and keep the list short.
- Write it SMART. Write down what will be achieved, how it is measured and by when.
- Set a baseline and list obstacles. Record today's numbers and list each likely obstacle with its solution.
- Assign action steps. Give every step an owner and a completion date.
- Track, correct and celebrate. Chart progress, apply countermeasures when results drift, and celebrate progress.
Involve every leader, department and team, not just the people at the top; people commit to plans they helped write.
How Should a Team Track Progress Toward Its Goals?
Track team goals on a simple chart everyone can see, and update it on a fixed day. I recommend a line graph with three lines, the goal, the actual results and the baseline, or a thermometer chart when results accumulate, such as year-to-date sales.
A 2016 meta-analysis of 138 studies with 19,951 participants, published in Psychological Bulletin, found that monitoring goal progress promotes goal attainment, with larger effects when progress was reported or made public, or physically recorded. A chart on the wall does both.
Track two kinds of indicator. Lagging indicators are end results such as sales growth, gross profit, EBITDA and on-time delivery; leading indicators are the upfront activities that drive them, and they warn you while there is still time to act.
| Indicator | Type | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Sales increase (%) | Lagging | The end result |
| On-time delivery (%) | Lagging | The end result |
| Sales calls made | Leading | Drives sales growth |
| Trade shows attended | Leading | Drives sales growth |
| Sales leads tracked | Leading | Drives sales growth |
Examples I use with client teams. Review leading indicators weekly and lagging indicators monthly or quarterly.
How Often Should Team Goals Be Reviewed?
Review team goals weekly for actions, monthly for results and quarterly against the annual operating plan, and put countermeasures in place as soon as a goal is off track. A guide from BDC, the Business Development Bank of Canada, puts it plainly: performance management "shouldn't be something painful you do once a year."
| Rhythm | What the team reviews | Decision to make |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Action steps and leading indicators | Who needs help |
| Monthly | Line graph against goal and baseline | Countermeasure or stay the course |
| Quarterly | Goals against the annual operating plan | Adjust or hold |
The rhythm I use with client teams; adjust it to your business cycle.
What Results Can Goal Setting Training Deliver?
Clients have reported measurable gains when their leaders practise the method between sessions. The Leadership Management International programs I deliver run 4 to 6 months, with 2-hour sessions every two weeks at your workplace.
Dana Lingwood, Director of Sales at AGF-Rebar, wrote: "One of the key outcomes of the LMI program was being able to shift 90 more minutes per day towards high payoff activities and this has resulted in significant and measurable results in goal planning and achievement, strategic planning, implementing standard work, more effective team building and empowerment, and in securing revenue for the company." The same testimonial adds: "The return on investment for the LMI program far exceeds the 10:1 target that was set." That is one client's reported result, not a guarantee.
The honest caveat: this takes months of practice, not a one-day workshop. If you are not sure where your team's goals break down, a 15-minute call is usually enough to find out.
Who Delivers Goal Setting Training Durham Teams Can Use in Person?
National brands suit large, multi-site rollouts; local in-person training suits a Durham Region team changing how it sets and tracks goals.
FranklinCovey reports that only 15 per cent of employees actually know their organization's most important goals, and Kaizen Institute's Hoshin Planning sets breakthrough objectives for the next 3 to 5 years, then turns them into annual objectives on a one-page X Matrix. Both organizations run strong programs for large employers. For Durham Region and Greater Toronto Area teams who want customized, local and measurable results, my approach is the better fit: I work with your leaders in person, on your own goals and numbers, for the full program.
You can read about my background and why employers choose Gurley Leadership Solutions.
What Is the Bottom Line for Durham Region Teams?
Write fewer goals, give each one a baseline and an owner, and review them every week.
- Choose a free template or a one-day workshop if your team already tracks goals well and needs only a refresher.
- Choose a self-paced online course if one manager needs the basics quickly.
- Choose in-person goal setting training for managers with Gurley Leadership Solutions if several leaders need to build the habit with their teams.
To stay a goals driven organization for years to come, goal planning has to live inside your yearly planning, quarterly reviews, KPI tracking, training and standard operating procedures. Goal setting training Durham teams keep using is built on practice, which is why I use a proven program from Leadership Management International, customized to your organization; see the Leadership Management International programs. I deliver it in person in Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Pickering, Clarington and across Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area.
What Goal Is Your Team Missing Right Now?
A 15-minute call with Malcolm Gurley is enough to find where your goals break down and what to fix first.
416.669.7644 · Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM · Ask about government funding options when you book your call.
Book a 15-Minute CallWhat Do Durham Region Employers Ask About Goal Setting Training?
What is goal setting training?
Goal setting training teaches managers and employees a shared method for writing, owning and tracking goals. A good program covers SMART goal writing, baselines, action steps with owners and dates, progress charts and regular reviews. In Durham Region, Gurley Leadership Solutions delivers it in person through Leadership Management International programs customized to each organization.
What are SMART goals?
SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and tangible in the Leadership Management International version Gurley Leadership Solutions teaches. Specific means writing down what will be achieved, how it will be measured and by when, and tangible means the result can be touched, seen or felt. Many other guides end the acronym with relevant and time-bound instead.
Why is goal setting important in the workplace?
Goal setting is important in the workplace because it tells people exactly what is expected and how success will be measured. Research by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham found that specific, difficult goals consistently led to higher performance than urging people to do their best. Clear team goals also make problems visible early, while there is still time to act.
How do you set goals for a team?
Tie each team goal to the company's strategy and annual operating plan, then write it in SMART form. Record a baseline, list likely obstacles with a solution for each, and give every action step an owner and a completion date. Track progress weekly or monthly on a chart the whole team can see, and celebrate progress along the way.
Who offers goal setting training in Durham Region?
Gurley Leadership Solutions in Ajax, Ontario, led by Malcolm Gurley, delivers goal setting training in person for teams across Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area. Malcolm is LMI Canada licensed, Lean Certified and a Six Sigma Black Belt with 35+ years of senior executive experience, including Honeywell and Johnson Controls. Call 416.669.7644.
Malcolm Gurley brings 35+ years of senior executive experience with Honeywell, Johnson Controls and Armstrong Fluid Technology. He is LMI Canada licensed, Lean Certified and a Six Sigma Black Belt, a member of the Ajax Pickering Board of Trade, and delivers Leadership Management International programs in person across Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area from Ajax, Ontario. Facts on this page were checked against Gallup, BDC and published goal-setting research on October 8, 2026. Frequently asked questions
Sources and References
- Gallup, Do Employees Really Know What's Expected of Them?, September 27, 2016 (gallup.com)
- Harkin, B., et al., Does Monitoring Goal Progress Promote Goal Attainment? A Meta-Analysis of the Experimental Evidence, Psychological Bulletin 142(2), 2016 (White Rose Research Online)
- Locke, E. A., and Latham, G. P., Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation: A 35-Year Odyssey, American Psychologist 57(9), 2002, doi:10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705
- BDC, Employee performance management: Use the SMART approach (bdc.ca)
- Gurley Leadership Solutions FAQ page and published testimonials (gurleyleadershipsolutions.com)
