In Sion, is setting a goal enough to guide work?
Within SHR — Swiss Human Resources' “Leadership d'excellence” programme, one question deserves attention: under what conditions does a demanding goal actually help a team work better? In Sion, this question applies as much to coordinating hydropower operations as to healthcare, viticulture and Alpine tourism.
What the literature establishes
Edwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham (2002, American Psychologist) synthesise research showing that specific, difficult goals generally support performance more effectively than vague instructions to do one's best. This relationship depends, among other things, on ability, commitment to the goal and the availability of feedback on progress. A precise target therefore replaces neither the skills nor the resources needed to achieve it.
Feedback can divert attention
Avraham N. Kluger and Angelo DeNisi (1996, Psychological Bulletin) show in a meta-analysis that feedback interventions do not consistently improve performance and can also impair it. Their theoretical framework highlights the role of shifts in attention: feedback focused on the person can draw attention away from the work that needs correcting. For a manager, commenting on a result and helping someone adjust a method are therefore not equivalent actions.
The premature conclusion
One might conclude that setting a numerical target and regularly commenting on deviations is enough. That would overlook the fact that, with a new or complex task, the team may need to discover a strategy before it can improve its results. A learning goal may then be more appropriate than an immediate output requirement; it does not remove the challenge, but temporarily changes its focus. (our executive and employee training programmes)
What these studies cannot promise
These studies do not establish that the same goal formulation will suit every activity found in Sion. Throughput, time to receive care, a vineyard operation or a tourism service cannot be interpreted independently of their quality and safety constraints. Nor do these studies evaluate the “Leadership d'excellence” programme: its transfer into practice must be assessed separately.
A practical check in Sion
As an application exercise for the programme, a team based in Sion could track one operational goal for four weeks, recording the target, result, adjustment tested and a quality or safety criterion to preserve each week. Depending on the activity, the record would cover preparations for hydropower maintenance, coordination of a care pathway, a vineyard operation or welcoming Alpine tourism visitors. The measure would be the proportion of reviews leading to an explicit adjustment assigned to a named owner and checked at the next review, retaining both the numerator and denominator. This ratio would check whether feedback translates into action, without being sufficient to demonstrate a performance gain or a causal effect of the training. To go further: explore the Executive Leadership training in Sion in the canton of Valais, or browse our executive and employee training programmes in Switzerland.
In pictures: Executive Leadership in Sion
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