# Goals

> Optional goals with a measure and regular updates, and how they appear in a review

A goal says what a person is working toward and how progress is measured; goals are optional, and nobody is asked to set one.

## How it works

A person's goals are visible to them, their managers and workspace admins, and any of them can add, edit and update them. **Performance → Goals** is there for everyone while Performance is on. On the Free plan a person can have 3 open goals at a time; paid plans have no limit. At the limit, **Add goal** is turned off and the list says why, until a goal is closed or dropped.

## Add a goal

1. Open **Performance → Goals**. **Whose goals** starts on **My goals**. Anyone who manages people can pick **My team** or one of the people they manage, even someone with no goals yet. An admin can also search for anyone in the workspace by name.
2. Choose **Add goal** and fill in **Goal** (up to 120 characters) and, if useful, **Why it matters** (up to 600).
3. Pick **How progress is measured**: **Percent**, **Number** with a **Start value**, a **Target** and an optional **Unit** of up to 12 characters, or **Done or not done**.
4. Set a **Due date** if the goal has one, then choose **Add goal**.

The list shows 10 goals a page, **Open** or **Closed**, and filters by status or outcome. A goal opens as its own page with a progress chart, its facts and its updates: the 10 newest, and **Show older updates** adds 10 more at a time, up to the newest 50. Once its owner has left, the goal is read only.

## Post an update

1. Open the goal from the list, or from the **Update a goal** task on **Performance → To do**. **Add update**, at the top of the goal's page, takes you to the form.
2. Under **New update**, enter the new value, pick **On track**, **At risk** or **Off track**, and add **What changed?** (up to 600 characters) if it helps.
3. Choose **Save update**.

An update is due every month, whatever the cycle: one month after the last update, or after the goal was added. The owner then gets the **Update a goal** task and a reminder. An update an assistant records looks the same as one typed on the page. There is no **Through an assistant** badge.

**Edit** changes an open goal. Under **Close goal**, **Close as done** asks for the **Final value**, and **Drop goal** closes it as Dropped. A closed goal keeps its updates and comes back with **Reopen**. **Remove goal** works only on a goal with no updates.

## Goals in a review

A form gets goals through **Add Goals section**. When the round opens, the review copies up to 5 of the person's goals for the period: added by its last day, not Dropped, and open or closed on or after its first day, earliest due date first and undated ones last. The person and their manager rate each one **Missed**, **Partly met**, **Met** or **Exceeded**, or **Not sure**, against the progress and status it had when the round opened. Later updates do not change the review's copy, and people with no goals in the period skip the section.

## Worked example

On 1 July, Ewa adds a goal for Tomasz on Northlake's Platform team: "Move 20 services to the new deploy pipeline", a **Number** from 0 to 20 in services, due 30 September 2026. Tomasz's last update, on 28 September, reads 17 of 20, **On track**. The Q3 2026 round opens on 1 October and copies the goal at 17 of 20. Tomasz closes it as done on 9 October, but the review still shows 17 of 20, and Ewa rates it **Met**.

> [!AGENT]
> My goal update is due in SquadBear. Record 17 of 20 services moved to the new deploy pipeline, on track.

An assistant records an update with `update_goal_progress` when it is due, or while drafting a review that rates the goal. It works for the owner or their manager, not for admins, and cannot add or edit goals.

## Related

- [Write a review](/docs/performance/write-a-review/)
- [Set up a review cycle](/docs/performance/set-up-a-cycle/)
- [Who sees what in Performance](/docs/performance/who-sees-what/)