CTC Goal Setting & Performance Enhancement 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A team coach notices that team members are pursuing individual metrics that conflict with the shared team goal. The BEST coaching response is to:
- Remove conflicting individual metrics immediately
- Facilitate a conversation that surfaces the tension and realigns individual and team goals (Correct answer)
- Report the misalignment to senior management
- Increase monitoring of individual performance
Correct answer: Facilitate a conversation that surfaces the tension and realigns individual and team goals
Surfacing and resolving goal conflicts through dialogue helps the team develop shared ownership without creating resentment from top-down mandates.
Question 2: Which goal-setting theory suggests that specific, difficult goals lead to higher performance than vague or easy ones?
- Self-Determination Theory
- Expectancy Theory
- Locke and Latham's Goal-Setting Theory (Correct answer)
- Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Correct answer: Locke and Latham's Goal-Setting Theory
Locke and Latham's Goal-Setting Theory demonstrates that goal specificity and difficulty are the two primary drivers of performance improvement.
Question 3: A CTC coach is working with a team that has high capability but low motivation toward its goals. Which approach is MOST likely to re-engage the team?
- Increase the frequency of performance reporting
- Co-create a compelling 'why' behind the goals and reconnect them to team purpose (Correct answer)
- Replace underperforming team members
- Simplify the goals to reduce pressure
Correct answer: Co-create a compelling 'why' behind the goals and reconnect them to team purpose
When capability is present but motivation is low, reconnecting the team to meaning and purpose is the most effective lever for re-engagement.
Question 4: What does 'goal commitment' mean in the context of team performance?
- The degree to which team members formally sign off on the goal document
- The team's determination to pursue a goal even when facing obstacles or setbacks (Correct answer)
- The sponsor's financial commitment to resourcing the team
- The frequency with which goal progress is reported to stakeholders
Correct answer: The team's determination to pursue a goal even when facing obstacles or setbacks
Goal commitment refers to the team's psychological resolve to keep pursuing the goal through challenges, which predicts sustained performance.
Question 5: During a retrospective, a team realizes its performance goals were set without adequate input from key stakeholders. The coach should help the team:
- Defend the original goals and continue without change
- Revise the goals through an inclusive stakeholder engagement process (Correct answer)
- Disband the current goal framework entirely
- Blame the goal-setting process for poor performance
Correct answer: Revise the goals through an inclusive stakeholder engagement process
Revising goals with proper stakeholder involvement corrects the process flaw and builds the broader alignment needed for effective execution.
Question 6: Which of the following is an example of an OUTCOME goal versus a PROCESS goal?
- 'We will hold weekly stand-ups' is an outcome goal; 'increase revenue by 20%' is a process goal
- 'Increase revenue by 20%' is an outcome goal; 'we will hold weekly stand-ups' is a process goal (Correct answer)
- Both are outcome goals because they are measurable
- Both are process goals because they are team-driven
Correct answer: 'Increase revenue by 20%' is an outcome goal; 'we will hold weekly stand-ups' is a process goal
Outcome goals define the end result to achieve, while process goals define the specific behaviors and activities that drive that result.
Question 7: A team coach observes that the team celebrates reaching milestones but rarely reflects on what enabled success. The coach should:
- Discourage celebrations to maintain focus on future goals
- Introduce structured 'success debriefs' so the team can replicate winning behaviors (Correct answer)
- Redirect the team's energy entirely to the next goal
- Report that the team is spending too much time on non-work activities
Correct answer: Introduce structured 'success debriefs' so the team can replicate winning behaviors
Success debriefs help teams extract learnable insights from positive outcomes, turning wins into repeatable performance patterns.
CTC Goal Setting & Performance Enhancement 3
A team coach notices that team members are pursuing individual metrics that conflict with the shared team goal.
The BEST coaching response is to: