What does "moving the goalposts" mean, and how do I recognize it?
also called: shifting the target, raising the bar, the "yes, but now also" move
Moving the goalposts is when someone changes the criterion the moment you meet it, so the target always stays just out of reach. You recognize it when "deliver X and we're good" turns, right after X, into "yes, but now Y is missing too". Each new hurdle sounds reasonable, but the bar keeps rising exactly when you've just touched it.
What it sounds like
How Hearium reports it
Moving the goalposts
Them Nice, but without last quarter's numbers I can't sign off.
As long as the criterion stays movable, the other side can dress up a no as objective. You didn't fail, something is just always still missing, and the promise never has to be kept.
How to respond
- 1
Fix the criterion up front and in writing: "Once X is met, you sign off, correct?" makes a later shift visible.
- 2
Name the movement: "Last time it was the draft, now it's the numbers. What exactly is the full list?"
- 3
Demand the whole list at once: "Tell me everything still missing, so we don't go hurdle by hurdle."
Common questions
What's the difference from legitimate new requirements?
Requirements may change when the situation changes, and that is said openly. Moving the goalposts means replacing the agreed criterion after the fact, precisely because you met it, with nothing else having changed.
How do I catch it early enough?
Watch the pattern across several rounds: if a new condition appears exactly when the previous one is met, the target is shifting systematically rather than evolving honestly.