If your goals are like this you are wasting your time?

Its time to rethink professional planning conversations.

It’s the start of a new school year, and with it comes the annual ritual of professional planning conversations. You know the drill: sit down with a colleague or leader, scribble down a couple of “goals” for the year, and move on. But here’s the problem—when these goals are set half-heartedly or with little thought, they become tokenistic, ticking a box instead of driving real growth.

Tokenistic goals aren’t just a waste of time; they can be outright harmful to your professional development, your motivation, and your ability to create meaningful impact. Let’s explore why this happens and how to shift the conversation to something that truly matters.

What Are Tokenistic Goals?

Tokenistic goals are those set for the sake of formality. They often look good on paper but lack depth, relevance, or genuine commitment. Here are some telltale signs:

•  Generic and Vague: “I’ll improve classroom engagement” or “Use more technology in lessons” without specifics or measurable outcomes.
•  Safe and Low-Impact: Goals chosen to avoid risk or challenge, offering little room for growth.
•  Disconnected: Goals that don’t align with your values, needs, or the reality of your classroom.

Why Do Teachers Set Tokenistic Goals?

•  Time Pressure: Beginning-of-year meetings are often rushed, leaving little room for thoughtful goal-setting.
•  Box-Ticking Culture: Schools sometimes prioritize compliance over meaningful dialogue, treating planning as just another task.
•  Avoidance of Vulnerability: Setting ambitious or deeply personal goals requires honesty and self-reflection, which can feel uncomfortable in a formal setting.
•  Overwhelm: At the start of the year, teachers are often juggling new classes, schedules, and demands, making ambitious goal-setting feel like one more thing on an already heavy plate.

The Dangers of Tokenistic Goals

1. Wasted Opportunities for Growth Superficial goals keep you stuck in your comfort zone, offering little chance to stretch your skills or explore new ideas. Over time, this can lead to stagnation and a sense of professional dissatisfaction.
2. Loss of Motivation When your goals lack personal meaning, they quickly become an afterthought. Tokenistic goals don’t inspire action, leaving you feeling disconnected from your own professional growth.
3. Reinforcement of Mediocrity Tokenistic goal-setting normalizes low expectations, for both individuals and the school culture. When the bar is set too low, everyone misses out—teachers, students, and the broader school community.
4. Burnout Risk Ironically, setting shallow goals can contribute to burnout. Why? Because they often fail to address the real challenges or areas of concern that could make your workload more manageable or meaningful.

The Bottom Line

Professional planning conversations should feel like an opportunity, not a chore. By ditching tokenistic goals and setting ones that are meaningful, challenging, and aligned with your values, you can transform this process into something that drives real growth—not just for you, but for your students and school community too. After all, teaching is too important to go through the motions. Let’s make it count.