Locke's theory suggests that people are motivated to achieve personal goals simply by the virtue of having set them. He states that employees are motivated by clear goals and appropriate feedback.
Locke often bases his principles on the SMART theory, sometimes giving the elements different names. Locke's main idea on goal setting is to use clear, challenging goals, and commit to achieving them.
As a manager, providing feedback on goal performance and taking into consideration the complexity of the task is crucial to developing employees.