Bored by Performance Goals? Try This Instead.

If writing performance goals feels hard, boring, or like a box-checking exercise, you’re not alone.

Most of the leaders and professionals I work with dread this process every year. Not because they don’t want to work hard, but because the exercise itself feels uninspiring.

In this Two-Minute Tip, I share a simple way to use AI (like ChatGPT) as a thinking partner to spark fresh ideas, uncover new growth opportunities, and create performance goals that actually energize you.

When done well, great goals don’t just check a box. They help you and your manager align on expectations, focus your effort, and drive real impact in your role.

If goal-setting feels like a chore right now, this quick exercise can help you start from inspiration instead of a blank page.

Quick exercise to try:

Instead of starting from scratch, open ChatGPT and paste in some real context. For example:

• A brief description of your organization and team

• Your role and responsibilities

• Your job description

• Last year’s performance goals (if you have them)

• Any areas where you want to grow or make more impact this year

Then use one (or more) of the prompts below.

Recommended Prompts:

1. Based on the context above, what are 5 performance goal ideas that would help me grow and deliver more impact in my role this year?

2. What skills or capabilities should someone in my role strengthen to be highly effective over the next 12 months?

3. What stretch goals would make sense for someone performing well in this role who wants to level up?

4. How could I turn my current responsibilities into more strategic, higher-impact goals?

5. What are some measurable ways I could improve outcomes for my team, department, or organization this year?

6. Which of these goal ideas would be most visible and valuable to my manager or leadership team?

Remember: this isn’t about copying and pasting what AI gives you. It’s about using it to spark thinking, explore new angles, and refine goals that actually matter.

One Final Reminder

Your performance goals should be a living document — not something you set once and never revisit. Even if your goals are already established, you can use this exercise to bring fresh ideas back to your manager and adjust as the year evolves.

Don’t settle for boring, uninspiring goals.
Let’s make them something you’re excited to work toward this year.

• Read the video transcript

  If writing performance goals feels hard, boring, or maybe unnecessary to you, you are not alone. I find that most of my clients dread this exercise at the beginning of every year, and it's not because they don't want to work hard, it's because it just feels like this unnecessary paperwork exercise.

  However, setting great goals for your year can actually make you feel more excited about the work, and most importantly, it helps you and your manager align on what's expected of you this year and how you are going to drive great impact in your role.

   But if you're dreading it or you're struggling with it, here's a quick exercise that will help. It's one that I've walked through with many of my clients recently.

  Instead of starting from a blank page, you can use AI, something like ChatGPT, and feed it some important information. Maybe a little background about the organization, where you work, about your team. Maybe you can copy paste your job description in there, or some goals from prior years. Give it some context and then say, based on this context, based on my role as a staff accountant who wants to continue to grow, what are some new ideas for performance goals this year?

  And what you'll get back is not just a copy paste of new goals, but it will give some new inspiration, maybe some new ideas, new areas where you could drive even greater impact.

  So if goal setting is feeling like a chore to you right now, I encourage you to partner with AI, give this a try and see what new ideas surface. Also, if you've already set your goals. It's important to remember that this should be a living document throughout the year. You can update it and change it with your manager throughout the year based on the way things evolve at work.

  So even if you've already established them, if you are feeling a lack of inspiration from what you've established, weave this exercise in and come back to your boss with some refined, fresh ideas. Don't settle for boring and uninspiring in your performance goals. Let's weave something new in there this year.