Are your goals within your control?

I was recently in a group business coaching session with Claire Crum, founder of Calm Ops. We were talking about my Q4 business goals and the outcome I wanted to achieve this month: serve three new businesses.

It’s a solid goal: clear, measurable, and motivating. But as Claire reminded me, it’s also something I can’t fully control.

That’s when she introduced a simple but powerful concept: lead goals vs. lag goals.

Lead goals are based on effort and things within your control.
→ Connect with 10 new potential clients.
→ Attend 2 networking events.
→ Send a follow up message to every connection from the last networking event.

Lag goals are based on results and things influenced by your actions but ultimately outside your direct control.
→ Provide 5 free consultation calls.
→ Sign 3 new clients.
→ Land 2 new speaking engagements.

She encouraged me to keep the lag goal as my north star but measure success through the lead goals — the actions I could own and deliver on every day.

Because when your progress depends on other people’s choices, it’s easy to feel stuck or defeated. But when you measure success by effort, you stay empowered. You can reinforce your progress. You can control the narrative of your growth.

That’s what leadership is about too.

In organizations, we often do the same thing. We set goals that sound good but sit entirely outside our control.
→ Increase customer satisfaction by 20%.
→ Win three new contracts this quarter.
→ Boost retention across the company.

They’re great aspirations, but they’re lag goals. Leaders and teams can influence them, but not guarantee them. The real challenge for leaders is to give your people ownership over the things they can actually control.

When teams have agency over the inputs — communication frequency, customer response plans, process improvements, collaboration habits — results follow naturally. They feel empowered to act instead of anxious about outcomes they can’t control.

The same applies to personal growth. We can’t always control the opportunities we’re given, the timing, or the external factors that shape our paths. But we can control how consistently we show up, the habits we build, and the conversations we start.

As Claire explained, let your lag goals guide you, but let your lead goals define your success. That small shift changes everything. From how you measure progress to how you lead others.

So as you plan your week, ask yourself: Are you focusing on what you can’t control, or what you can?