Coaching Goals Worksheet
This coaching goals worksheet helps you turn a general wish, such as "be more strategic", into one to three goals a coach can work with. Answer the five blocks in order, in short notes, ideally over two or three sittings. You finish with goals that name a real situation, the behaviour you want to change and how you, and the people around you, will notice the difference.
Use it before a discovery call, at the start of a coaching engagement, or halfway through to check that your goals still fit. It is a thinking tool, not a form to hand in. Nobody needs to see your answers unless you choose to share them.
1. Where you are now
- What is taking most of your energy at work right now?
- Which situation do you replay in your head after it has happened?
- What feedback have you heard more than once, from more than one person?
- What are you tolerating that you know needs to change?
2. What you want instead
- If the next six months went well, what would be different in your working week?
- What would you be doing more of, and less of?
- Who would notice the change first, and what would they see?
- Finish the sentence: "I want to become a leader who…"
3. Make one goal observable
- Pick one goal. What will you do differently, and in which meetings or conversations?
- How would a colleague describe the change without being told about it?
- What is one early sign, within four weeks, that you are moving?
- What would tell you this goal is complete?
4. What stands in the way
- What have you already tried, and what got in the way?
- Which belief about yourself makes this goal feel risky?
- What would you have to stop doing, or let go of, to reach it?
- Who has a stake in this goal, and do they agree it matters?
5. Your commitments
- If you could work on only one goal, which would it be?
- What support do you need, and from whom?
- What will you bring to your first coaching session?
- On what date will you review this worksheet?
Use the worksheet in three short sittings, not one long one
The coaching goals worksheet works best when you give your thinking time to settle between blocks. Goals written in one rushed sitting tend to repeat appraisal language rather than say what you actually want.
Sitting one: empty your head (20 minutes)
Answer blocks 1 and 2 quickly, without editing. Quantity matters more than polish at this stage.
Sitting two: sharpen (15 minutes, a few days later)
Reread your notes, circle what still feels true, and work through block 3 for your strongest goal.
Sitting three: test it (15 minutes)
Complete blocks 4 and 5. If your organisation is sponsoring the coaching, this is the version to discuss in a three-way coaching agreement.
A worked example: from "more strategic" to a goal you can coach
Imagine a newly promoted head of operations in a Gulf bank. Her manager has told her twice that she needs to be "more strategic". On the worksheet, block 1 shows that she spends most mornings fixing escalations her team could handle, and block 2 shows she wants time to shape the department's plan for next year.
By block 3 the vague wish has become something she can practise and someone else can see.
| Before the worksheet | After the worksheet |
|---|---|
| Be more strategic | Protect two mornings a week for planning, and redirect routine escalations to my two team leads |
| Communicate better with senior management | Open each leadership meeting update with the decision I need, then the detail |
| Be less stressed | Leave the office by 6pm three days a week by stopping late-evening email checking |
Common mistakes that weaken coaching goals
- Goals about other people. "Get my team to take ownership" is a wish about them. Coaching works on what you do, so rewrite it as your behaviour.
- Too many goals. Five goals means none gets real attention. Rank them and start with one or two.
- Results without behaviour. A revenue target tells you where to go, not what to change in how you lead to get there.
- Writing the goal your boss would choose. Sponsor input matters, but a goal you do not care about rarely survives a busy quarter.
- No early sign. Without a four-week indicator, you will not know whether to adjust until months have passed.
When to bring your goals to a coach
Bring the worksheet to a coach when your goals keep circling the same theme or when block 4 reveals a belief you cannot get past alone. In my coaching work, the first sessions often reshape the goals a leader arrives with, and that is a sign the process is working, not that the worksheet failed.
In one-to-one executive coaching, we test your goals together, link them to real situations in your week and review them as you change. For the full method behind writing goals, read how to set goals for executive coaching. If you are not ready to commit, a coaching discovery call is a free 30-minute way to talk your draft through.
Rula Husseini is an Executive Leadership & Mindset Coach (ICF PCC) based in Manama, Bahrain, with 26+ years in leadership, HR and talent development and 4,500+ coaching hours. She coaches executives, emerging leaders and teams in Arabic and English, in person and online.
Credentials and training →Frequently asked questions
How many coaching goals should I have?
One to three is usually right. One goal gives you focus, and a second or third can support it. More than three tends to spread your attention so thinly that nothing shifts.
Should my coaching goals match my performance review objectives?
They can connect, but they are not the same thing. Performance objectives describe what you deliver; coaching goals describe how you lead and think while delivering it. A good coaching goal often explains why an objective has been hard to reach.
Can my goals change during coaching?
Yes, and they often do. As you understand a situation better, the real goal sometimes sits underneath the one you started with. Review the worksheet every few sessions and update it openly.
Do I need to finish the worksheet before a discovery call?
No. Blocks 1 and 2 are enough to have a useful first conversation. The rest can be completed with your coach once you decide to work together.
Related
How to Set Goals for Executive Coaching
How to set goals for executive coaching that lead to real change: a four-step method, vague goals rewritten, and how to involve your sponsor.
How to Prepare for Your First Coaching Session
How to prepare for your first coaching session: reflection prompts for the week before, what to bring, questions to ask your coach and what to do afterwards.
What Should I Talk About in Coaching?
What should you talk about in coaching? Topics with the most value, prompts for when your mind goes blank, and how to shape a vague worry into a session.
One-to-One Executive Coaching in Bahrain and Online
First 90 Days Plan Template
A free, printable first 90 days plan template for new leaders: prompts for each 30-day phase, an example, and the mistakes that derail a new role.
Talk your goals through
Bring your draft to a free 30-minute discovery call and leave with clearer goals, whether or not we work together.