#62. Stretch Goals Are a Lie: How to Actually Develop Your Team

2026-01-27

Download

Stretch goals came out of Jack Welch's GE in the 1990s. Corporate America has been obsessed with them ever since. And they don't work.Here's what actually happens: You dump work on someone, disappear, and call it development. That's not a stretch goal. That's abandonment.In this episode, I'm replacing stretch goals entirely with a 5-step framework for developing people by letting go of work—with structure, coaching, and support.You'll learn how to identify w...

Stretch goals came out of Jack Welch's GE in the 1990s. Corporate America has been obsessed with them ever since. And they don't work.

Here's what actually happens: You dump work on someone, disappear, and call it development. That's not a stretch goal. That's abandonment.

In this episode, I'm replacing stretch goals entirely with a 5-step framework for developing people by letting go of work—with structure, coaching, and support.

You'll learn how to identify what you're hoarding, slice work into learnable pieces, and coach people through it without taking the work back the first time they struggle.

This is Part 3 of the Development Reckoning series. If you haven't listened to Parts 1 and 2, start there first.

Stop the chase. Grow in place. Starting with the work you're holding onto right now.

Comments (3)