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Create Goals

ClarityLoop Goals are designed to do one thing well: turn good intent into visible progress.

Many goal systems create documents. This one is built to support real execution and coaching over time.

Goals how-to​

Watch this walkthrough to see how to create goals, choose the right goal type, and set them up for real follow-through.

Start from your situation​

Before you create anything, decide how you want to start:

  1. You already know the goal clearly
    Open My Goals and click Add.

  2. You know the direction but need structure
    Use Generate Recommendation to get AI drafts, then refine.

  3. You already have strong evidence
    Start from feedback or growth context and use Add to Goals where available.

  4. You are creating goals with a direct report
    Managers can open the person in Team and work in the Goals tab.

This choice matters because good goals begin with the right input, not just the right template.

What a good goal actually looks like​

A strong goal in ClarityLoop is:

  • outcome-first, not activity-first
  • grounded in real evidence
  • measurable over time
  • easy for the individual and manager to coach together

If a goal cannot answer "what should be different by the end of this cycle?", it usually stays busy but not useful.

Create the goal​

1. Define the change​

Write an objective that explains:

  • what should improve
  • why it matters now
  • what visible success will look like

New goals are open by default so they can be tracked straight away. If you are still shaping the wording with your manager, use Save as draft when you first create it.

As the work moves on, keep the goal card up to date:

  • Publish a draft when it is ready to track.
  • Complete a goal when the growth area or deliverable is done.
  • Cancel a goal when it no longer applies.
  • Reopen a completed or cancelled goal if work needs to continue.

Use the goal card menu for these changes. When you complete or cancel a goal, it closes the goal and lets the manager know through the normal goal update notifications.

2. Choose goal type (this changes the workflow)​

ClarityLoop goal type is not cosmetic. It changes how the goal is structured and managed.

Growth Areas

  • Best for behavior, capability, and role development goals.
  • In the goal editor, you can link evidence (growth opportunities, feedback, level, values).
  • Parent/cascade alignment options are not shown.
  • Progress items are presented as Actions.

Deliverables

  • Best for execution and business outcome goals.
  • In the goal editor, parent goal and cascading options are available.
  • Evidence linking section is not shown.
  • Progress items are presented as Key Results.

Deliverables & Growth

  • Best when delivery and development are both core to the same goal.
  • You get both evidence linking and parent/cascade alignment options.
  • Progress items are presented as Key Results / Actions.

Choose the type that matches the outcome you actually want to manage, not the label that sounds best.

3. Add evidence (when available for the selected type)​

Link what this goal is based on:

  • Growth Opportunities
  • Received Feedback
  • Career Level
  • Company Value

Evidence-backed goals are easier to trust, review, and coach.

4. Add key results/actions that drive weekly behavior​

Under the objective, add measurable progress items:

  • Key Results for measurable outcomes
  • Actions for behavior-driven execution

Each item should have a clear title, progress model, and timeline. You do not need to separately open or close each key result/action. When the goal is open, its items can be updated. When the goal is completed or cancelled, its items are closed with it.

By default, a key result/action uses the same start and target dates as the goal. You can choose different item dates when useful, but they must sit inside the goal's date range. If a key result/action cannot be reviewed in a 1:1 quickly, it needs rewriting.

5. Choose the progress model you trust​

  • Manual for judgment-heavy outcomes and coaching context
  • Jira or Linear when issue workflow is a reliable progress signal

When using Jira/Linear, make sure the linked issue actually represents the intended outcome.

Once a goal is open​

Once a goal is open, ClarityLoop gives you a centralized view to run goals continuously:

  • one place to review open, completed, cancelled, and ended goals
  • trend-friendly progress views (not just static snapshots)
  • comments + context history so decisions stay transparent
  • easy add to 1:1 agendas for follow-through
  • manager team view for faster coaching support

The goal list has an Open / All filter. Open is your active working view. Goals move out of Open when they are completed, cancelled, or past their target date. Use All whenever you want to review older or closed goals.

Users can also control goal/key-result notifications in notification preferences (email/Slack), so updates stay visible without constant manual follow-up.

Next steps​