Most people have goals.

We want to become healthier, earn more, build a successful business, change career, gain a qualification, become more confident, improve a relationship, develop our leadership skills or finally turn an idea into reality.

The problem is rarely that people have no ambitions.

The problem is that having a goal and knowing how to create, structure and pursue a successful goal are very different things.

A vague intention such as:

“I want to be more successful.”

may feel positive, but it gives the brain very little useful direction.

Successful at what?

How will you know when you are succeeding?

What specifically needs to change?

What can you control?

What resources do you already have?

What additional resources might you need?

What will achieving the goal mean for other areas of your life?

And perhaps most importantly:

What are you going to do next?

This is why effective goal setting is much more than writing a wish on a piece of paper.

It is a personal and professional success skill.

When you learn how to take an aspiration and transform it into a clear, meaningful and actionable outcome, you begin to develop something incredibly valuable: the ability to deliberately influence the direction of your own life.

Research into goal-setting psychology supports the importance of this. Locke and Latham’s extensive work on Goal-Setting Theory found that specific and appropriately challenging goals can produce stronger performance than vague instructions simply to “do your best”. Goals help focus attention, mobilise effort, encourage persistence and stimulate the development of strategies for achievement.

But successful goal setting goes deeper still.

One particularly useful approach comes from Neuro-Linguistic Programming – Well-Formed Outcomes.

From Goals to Outcomes

Within NLP, the word outcome is often used deliberately.

A goal might describe something you would like.

An outcome encourages you to think much more carefully about what needs to exist for you to know that you have achieved it.

Consider the difference.

Goal:

“I want to be more confident.”

Well-considered outcome:

“I want to feel confident enough to confidently deliver a 20-minute presentation to my management team, answer questions clearly and leave the meeting knowing that I communicated my ideas effectively.”

Immediately, something changes.

The second version gives the mind more information.

It provides context.

It begins to establish evidence.

It points towards behaviour.

It makes it possible to ask better questions.

And better questions frequently produce better thinking.

This is one of the great practical strengths of the NLP concept of Well-Formed Outcomes.

Rather than simply asking:

“What do you want?”

we begin exploring:

“What would need to be true for this outcome to become real?”

What Is a Well-Formed Outcome?

A Well-Formed Outcome is an NLP approach for taking a desired result and examining it from several different perspectives.

Different NLP schools sometimes describe the criteria slightly differently, but commonly they include several important principles:

1. State the outcome positively

Define what you want, rather than simply what you do not want.

2. Make it specific

Clarify precisely what you are seeking to achieve.

3. Establish evidence

Determine how you will know when the outcome has been achieved.

4. Understand the context

Where, when and with whom do you want the outcome?

5. Make sure your part is within your control

Focus on the actions and responses that you can influence.

6. Identify the resources required

What knowledge, skills, people, information, confidence, money or other resources might you need?

7. Consider the consequences

What could change as a result of achieving the outcome?

8. Identify the steps

What needs to happen – and what is the first action you can take?

UKCPD’s own teaching of Well-Formed Outcomes emphasises positive formulation, specificity, sensory evidence, context, personal control, resources and consideration of the wider consequences of achieving the outcome.

What makes this approach particularly useful is that it takes goal setting beyond a simple target.

It turns goal setting into a thinking process.

1. Focus on What You Want – Not Simply What You Want to Avoid

One of the first principles of a Well-Formed Outcome is to express the outcome positively.

People frequently describe their goals by identifying what they want to stop.

“I don’t want to feel stressed.”

“I don’t want to be overweight.”

“I don’t want to be in debt.”

“I don’t want to hate my job.”

“I don’t want to be nervous when presenting.”

These statements describe dissatisfaction extremely well.

What they don’t necessarily describe is the destination.

For example:

If you don’t want to feel stressed, what would you like to feel instead?

Calm?

Focused?

In control?

Energised?

If you don’t want to dislike your job, what kind of working life do you actually want?

This apparently simple distinction can fundamentally change the quality of our thinking.

Instead of constantly orientating attention towards the problem, we begin building a representation of the desired future.

Successful people need to recognise problems – but they also need to be able to imagine possibilities.

That is an important distinction.

2. Become Specific About Success

Imagine telling a taxi driver:

“Take me somewhere better.”

The driver would reasonably ask:

“Where?”

Yet we regularly give ourselves goals that are almost as vague.

“I want a better career.”

“I want more money.”

“I want to grow the business.”

“I want more confidence.”

“I want to improve my life.”

There is nothing wrong with starting there.

Broad ambitions can provide valuable direction.

But sooner or later, successful action requires greater specificity.

If you want to grow your business:

How much growth would represent success?

Over what period?

Revenue?

Profit?

Customers?

Team size?

Market reach?

If you want greater confidence:

Confidence doing what?

Speaking in meetings?

Meeting new people?

Making decisions?

Presenting?

Starting a business?

The more precisely you understand your desired outcome, the easier it becomes to identify meaningful action.

This principle has strong parallels with mainstream goal-setting research. Locke and Latham’s work demonstrated the value of clearly specified goals compared with vague “do your best” intentions.

3. Know What Success Will Look, Sound and Feel Like

One of the most interesting elements of Well-Formed Outcomes is the idea of establishing evidence.

Ask yourself:

“How will I know when I have achieved this?”

That can be an extraordinarily powerful question.

Suppose somebody says:

“I want my team to communicate better.”

How will you know?

Perhaps:

• meetings become shorter and more focused;
• responsibilities are clearly agreed;
• fewer emails are required to clarify decisions;
• colleagues raise issues earlier;
• project deadlines are met more consistently;
• team members report greater confidence;
• conflict is handled constructively.

You are beginning to transform an abstraction – better communication – into observable evidence.

For a personal goal, you might ask:

What will I see?

What will I hear?

What will I be doing?

How will I feel?

The purpose is not simply positive visualisation.

It is about creating a sufficiently detailed representation of success that you can begin recognising whether you are moving towards it.

What gets noticed can be reviewed.

What can be reviewed can be adjusted.

And what can be adjusted can often be improved.

4. Concentrate on What You Can Control

This may be one of the most important lessons in successful goal setting.

Some goals depend heavily upon other people.

“I want my manager to promote me.”

“I want everyone to like my idea.”

“I want my partner to change.”

“I want customers to buy from me.”

“I want an investor to fund my company.”

These may all be things we would like to happen.

But we cannot directly control them.

A Well-Formed Outcome asks us to identify our own part in creating the result.

Instead of:

“I want my manager to promote me.”

we might explore:

“What can I do to become the strongest possible candidate for promotion?”

That could include:

• developing particular skills;
• gaining a professional qualification;
• taking responsibility for larger projects;
• improving measurable performance;
• asking for feedback;
• demonstrating leadership;
• discussing a career development plan.

You cannot control another person’s final decision.

You can dramatically influence the quality of your own preparation.

This distinction can be enormously empowering.

It moves us from wishful thinking towards personal agency.

5. Identify Your Resources

Big ambitions often create an immediate question:

“Can I really do this?”

A more useful question might be:

“What resources would help me do this?”

Resources can include much more than money.

They could include:

• knowledge;
• professional skills;
• confidence;
• experience;
• mentors;
• coaches;
• colleagues;
• technology;
• information;
• qualifications;
• networks;
• time;
• emotional support;
• previous successes.

You can also ask:

“When have I done something similar before?”

Perhaps you have never launched a business.

But have you successfully managed a project?

Perhaps you have never delivered a keynote presentation.

But have you successfully spoken to a smaller group?

Perhaps you have never changed career.

But have you previously learnt something difficult?

The resources required for future success are often partly hidden inside previous experience.

Learning to identify and consciously use those resources is another important personal-development skill.

6. Consider the Wider Consequences

One of the particularly valuable dimensions of Well-Formed Outcomes is sometimes described within NLP as an ecology check.

In straightforward terms:

If you achieve this goal, what else might change?

Imagine somebody whose goal is:

“I want to double my income.”

That sounds positive.

But suppose achieving it requires working 80 hours every week, travelling constantly and rarely seeing their family.

Is it still the right outcome?

Perhaps it is.

Perhaps it isn’t.

The important point is that the consequences should be considered rather than discovered accidentally.

Ask:

What could I gain?

What could I lose?

How might this affect my family?

My health?

My values?

My existing responsibilities?

My relationships?

My wider ambitions?

Could there be a better way to achieve what I really want?

This is why good goal setting is not simply about reaching targets.

It is about creating outcomes that fit the wider system of your life.

Success that destroys everything else you value can become a remarkably poor definition of success.

7. Turn Intention Into Action

At some point, every goal has to leave the imagination and enter the real world.

That requires action.

Psychologist Peter Gollwitzer’s influential research into implementation intentions demonstrated the value of linking intended behaviour to specific situations – essentially deciding in advance, when situation X occurs, I will perform behaviour Y. This helps bridge what psychologists sometimes describe as the intention–behaviour gap.

The practical lesson is extremely important.

Don’t finish your goal-setting process with:

“That’s what I want.”

Finish it with:

“What am I going to do?”

And preferably:

“What am I going to do first?”

Suppose your outcome is to become professionally qualified as a coach.

Your first step might not be:

“Become a coach.”

That is still much too large.

It might be:

“Research professionally accredited coaching qualifications before Friday.”

Then:

“Speak to a training provider.”

Then:

“Choose the appropriate programme.”

Then:

“Enrol.”

Then:

“Complete my first study module.”

Progress is created through actions.

And actions become easier when the next step is clear.

Goals Need Flexibility Too

Successful goal setting does not mean rigidly following a plan regardless of what happens.

Life changes.

Markets change.

People change.

We learn new information.

Unexpected opportunities appear.

Obstacles emerge.

One of the valuable attitudes encouraged within NLP is behavioural flexibility – the willingness to notice the feedback we are receiving and adapt our approach.

If something isn’t working, that doesn’t necessarily mean the outcome is impossible.

It may mean the strategy needs changing.

Imagine driving towards a destination and discovering the road ahead is closed.

You don’t abandon the destination.

You find another route.

Successful people frequently do the same.

They remain committed to important outcomes while remaining flexible about the route.

That combination – clarity of purpose combined with flexibility of behaviour – can be enormously powerful.

Goal Setting Is Really a Self-Awareness Skill

At first glance, goal setting appears to be about the future.

In reality, good goal setting also requires a considerable amount of self-awareness.

You need to understand:

What genuinely matters to you?

What motivates you?

What are you avoiding?

What assumptions are influencing you?

What do you believe is possible?

Which goals are actually yours?

Where are you making excuses?

Where might you need help?

What values are you trying to satisfy?

What are you prepared to change?

These are deeper questions.

And this is one reason studying NLP and Coaching together can become particularly powerful.

Why NLP and Coaching Work So Well Together

Coaching provides a structured process for helping people think, learn, identify goals, explore possibilities and take responsibility for action.

NLP contributes a broad collection of models and practical approaches concerned with areas including communication, language, internal experience, behavioural patterns, goal setting, states, beliefs and personal change.

Put the two together and something interesting happens.

Coaching provides the conversation.

NLP expands the toolkit available within that conversation.

A coach might initially help somebody identify what they want.

NLP’s Well-Formed Outcome approach can help explore that outcome in greater detail.

A client might recognise what they want but lack confidence.

NLP Practitioner training introduces approaches concerned with state management, anchoring and behavioural rehearsal.

A client may keep describing a situation in restrictive or limiting language.

NLP language models can help a practitioner ask questions that encourage greater specificity and alternative perspectives.

A person might know exactly what they want but repeatedly fail to act.

Coaching can provide accountability, reflection and action planning.

Together, NLP and Coaching can encourage people to move through a powerful developmental sequence:

Awareness → Outcome → Possibilities → Resources → Action → Feedback → Learning → Progress

That is useful whether you intend to become a professional coach or simply want to become more effective in your own life.

Developing a Success Mindset

Perhaps the greatest benefit of studying NLP and Coaching together is therefore not any single technique.

It is the mindset that begins developing around the techniques.

You start learning to ask different questions.

Instead of:

“Why does this always happen to me?”

you may begin asking:

“What can I learn from this?”

Instead of:

“What if I fail?”

you might ask:

“What would increase my chances of succeeding?”

Instead of:

“I can’t do it.”

you can explore:

“What specifically is preventing me from doing it yet?”

Instead of:

“I’ve tried everything.”

you might ask:

“What haven’t I tried?”

Instead of:

“That’s just the way I am.”

you might explore:

“What behaviour would be more useful in this situation?”

These shifts may appear small.

But repeated across hundreds of decisions, conversations, challenges and opportunities, they can have a significant impact on how somebody approaches their life.

Coaching Helps Turn Insight Into Progress

There is also a growing research base supporting coaching as a developmental intervention.

A meta-analysis by Theeboom, Beersma and van Vianen found positive effects from coaching across areas including performance and skills, wellbeing, coping, work attitudes and goal-directed self-regulation.

Research into workplace coaching by Jones, Woods and Guillaume likewise identified positive overall effects across organisational outcomes, including learning and performance-related measures.

This helps explain why learning coaching skills can be useful well beyond professional coaching practice.

Managers can coach members of their teams.

Leaders can improve developmental conversations.

Teachers and trainers can encourage greater reflection.

Consultants can ask more powerful questions.

Parents can sometimes become better listeners.

Entrepreneurs can improve the questions they ask themselves.

And individuals can become more thoughtful and structured about their own development.

Coaching is ultimately a way of helping thinking happen.

Combine that with a practical toolkit for communication, outcomes and behavioural flexibility, and you have a potentially powerful collection of skills for personal and professional development.

A Practical Well-Formed Outcome Exercise

Choose one important goal you currently have.

Take a sheet of paper and work through the following questions.

AIM

What specifically do I want?

POSITIVE

What do I want to achieve rather than avoid?

EVIDENCE

How will I know when I have achieved it?

What will I see, hear, feel or experience?

CONTEXT

Where do I want this?

When?

With whom?

CONTROL

What part of achieving this outcome is genuinely within my control?

RESOURCES

What resources do I already have?

What additional resources do I need?

CONSEQUENCES

What else could change if I achieve this?

Is the outcome consistent with what is important to me?

TIME FRAME

When do I want this?

STEPS

What needs to happen?

And finally:

What is the very first step?

That final question matters.

Because the difference between thinking about success and creating success is action.

Imagine Developing These Skills Across Your Whole Life

Consider what might change if you became significantly better at:

• defining exactly what you want;
• recognising opportunities;
• asking powerful questions;
• managing your internal state;
• communicating with greater clarity;
• listening more effectively;
• challenging limiting assumptions;
• recognising your existing resources;
• understanding different perspectives;
• building rapport;
• responding flexibly to setbacks;
• setting meaningful outcomes;
• helping other people clarify their goals;
• turning intentions into practical action.

Those aren’t simply coaching skills.

They are not simply NLP skills either.

They are success skills.

They can be applied in business.

Leadership.

Management.

Coaching.

Career development.

Relationships.

Communication.

Learning.

Personal development.

And everyday life.

This is why studying NLP and Coaching together can represent such an exciting investment.

You may begin because you want a qualification.

You may discover that you are actually developing an entirely new set of capabilities for thinking, communicating and approaching opportunity.

Study NLP & Coaching with UKCPD

The UK College of Personal Development (UKCPD) has been delivering NLP, Coaching and personal-development education since 1998, using an award-winning learning approach designed to combine academic understanding with practical application.

There are several routes depending on where you are starting and what you want to achieve.

Foundation Diploma in NLP

For people who want to begin exploring NLP, communication, mindset and personal development, UKCPD’s Foundation Diploma introduces core NLP models including rapport, sensory acuity, representational systems, anchoring and Well-Formed Outcomes.

Foundation Diploma in Life Coaching & NLP

An excellent route if you want to experience the benefits of learning Coaching and NLP together.

The live online programme introduces practical coaching models alongside NLP skills concerned with communication, mindset, goal setting and personal change. Its syllabus specifically explores the science of goal setting and the power of Well-Formed Outcomes within the coaching process.

NLP Practitioner & Advanced Certificate in Life Coaching

For learners wanting to move into deeper professional development, this award-winning 18-day programme combines NLP Practitioner training with a recognised coaching qualification.

It is designed for aspiring coaches, developing coaches, managers, career changers and personal-development professionals who want practical skills in communication, coaching, behavioural flexibility and change.

NLP Practitioner & Diploma in High-Performance Business Coaching

For those looking for a substantial professional coaching pathway, UKCPD’s 20-day NLP Practitioner & Diploma in High-Performance Business Coaching combines NLP Practitioner development with business, performance and professional coaching.

The programme includes goal setting, Well-Formed Outcomes, coaching models, communication, behavioural-change approaches and extensive practical application.

Level 5 Certificate and Diploma in Professional NLP & Coaching Practice

UKCPD also offers academically structured Level 5-equivalent professional development routes combining NLP Practitioner training with professional coaching practice.

The Level 5 Certificate in Professional NLP & Coaching Practice provides an 18-day route, while the Level 5 Diploma in Professional NLP & Coaching Practice provides a deeper 20-day programme.

NLP Master Practitioner

For existing NLP Practitioners who want to move from knowing NLP techniques towards developing greater depth, flexibility and mastery, UKCPD’s NLP Master Practitioner programme explores advanced areas including modelling, language, belief change and higher-level behavioural-change work.

Your Next Goal Could Change Much More Than You Think

Success rarely arrives as one enormous moment.

More often it develops through hundreds of smaller decisions.

A decision to clarify what you really want.

A decision to learn something new.

A decision to challenge an assumption.

A decision to ask for help.

A decision to change strategy.

A decision to take one more step.

And perhaps that is the greatest lesson in successful goal setting.

You do not need to know every step before you begin.

You need a meaningful direction.

You need enough clarity to recognise progress.

You need the flexibility to learn from feedback.

And you need the courage to take the first step.

Learning how to create Well-Formed Outcomes gives you a practical framework for doing exactly that.

Learning NLP expands the way you think about communication, behaviour, mindset and change.

Learning Coaching develops your ability to ask questions, listen, facilitate insight and turn thinking into purposeful action.

Study them together and you are developing much more than another collection of techniques.

You are developing a toolkit for success.

A toolkit you can use with clients.

With colleagues.

With teams.

With the people around you.

And, perhaps most importantly, with yourself.

If you are ready to make personal development more than something you simply read about, explore the award-winning NLP and Coaching qualification pathways available through the UK College of Personal Development.

Because sometimes the most important goal you can set is the decision to develop the person capable of achieving all the goals that come next.

References

Bandler, R., & Grinder, J. (1975). The Structure of Magic I: A Book About Language and Therapy. Science and Behavior Books.

Doran, G. T. (1981). There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives. Management Review, 70(11), 35–36.

Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54(7), 493–503. https DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.54.7.493.

Jones, R. J., Woods, S. A., & Guillaume, Y. R. F. (2016). The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(2).

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717. DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705.

O’Connor, J., & Lages, A. (2004). Coaching with NLP: How to Be a Master Coach. Element.

O’Connor, J., & Seymour, J. (1990). Introducing NLP: Psychological Skills for Understanding and Influencing People. Thorsons.

Theeboom, T., Beersma, B., & van Vianen, A. E. M. (2014). Does coaching work? A meta-analysis on the effects of coaching on individual-level outcomes in an organisational context. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 9(1), 1–18. DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2013.837499.