Here at ManageBetter we use two terms:

Individual business goal
Individual career goal

In the following article, I explain the two terms and why they are important.

I also explain why these two terms are not only confusing but also unfamiliar to many.

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What are Business Goals?

An individual business goal is a company objective for which an employee is responsible.

For example, an inside sales rep may be responsible for making 60 outbound sales calls per day.

What are Career Goals?

An individual career goal is a personal goal to which a person commits, usually to be more effective in his or her role, which may include improving his or her effectiveness in achieving business goals.

Improving effectiveness usually involves new techniques, knowledge, or experiences.

Sometimes the supervisor sets the individual career goal. In other cases, the supervisor leaves it up to the employee to set the individual career goal.

Examples of Career Goals That are Focused on Building Knowledge

For building knowledge, a salesperson may have the following career goals:

Take a sales course
Read a sales book
Find a mentor in sales

Examples of Career Goals Focused on Building Technique

For building technique, a salesperson may have the following career goals:

Understand customer needs before giving the pitch
Help customers develop custom solutions rather than generic approaches

One Way to Tell the Difference Between Business & Career Goals

A CEO may track a business goal like the # of calls an employee and their team.

But only an employee's immediate manager would track a career goal like:

Take a sales course
Read a sales book
Understand customer needs before giving the pitch

A CEO often do not track individual career goals; they are too busy to memorize those details.

Why Career Goals are Important

Every company wants its employees to improve.

And almost all employees are eager to do so. The bigger problem is they don’t know how. Some academics have called it the “knowing-doing gap.” Others call it the “elephant and the rider problem.”

Why Individual Career Goals Aren’t Specified

Too many managers make the mistake of saying: “It’s my job to specify the what. It’s my employees’ job to figure out the how.”

I’ve typically found that to be a cop-out. The real reason managers don’t specify the how is because:

They’re too busy
They don’t know how

Managers are always caught in some urgent business deadline or objective that most managers can’t pause to:

Chat about specific areas for improvement
Hold a heart-to-heart conversation about an employees’ career aspirations

Another reason is that managers aren’t comfortable talking about an employee’s career goals or areas of improvement. In a survey of 200+ employees, a LinkedIn poll showed that 69% of managers are uncomfortable talking about employees’ career goals.

It’s no surprise. Most managers aren’t trained to discuss these topics, and they’re afraid of saying the wrong things. They don’t know how to support employees with their career goals, especially if it conflicts with their needs.

For example, if I tell my company that my dream is to be a famous singer, and my company has no relation to music then the only thing my boss can do is cheerlead on the sidelines.

Let’s Be Blunt: Most Companies Just Don’t Set Goals at All

You’re not alone if you’re one of the many who have nonexistent or uninspiring career goals.

But here’s a more shocking revelation: most companies are just terrible about setting goals period, business, or career.

In general, goal setting is a very difficult exercise. It requires:

Commitment
Judgment
Willingness to fail

And most companies don’t have the time or resources to do it properly.

In summary, business goals are corporate goals that an employee is accountable for, while career goals are personal goals that a person commits to in order to be more effective in their role

It is hard to set career goals, but as a manager, you should push yourself to do so. Individuals can only improve by trying new and different behaviors. You need to be clear about what you want them to try, and you need to follow up consistently to make sure they are trying these new behaviors.