Goals Submitted but Still Showing as Draft for Some Employees

In some cases, employees have submitted their goals; however, the goal plan status continues to show as Draft. Despite this, the goals appear locked—employees are unable to edit them, and managers can also view the goals as locked.

Terminating the draft transaction would require employees to redo the goal updates or additions, which is not recommended in this scenario.

Has anyone encountered this behavior before?
Could this be related to approval configuration, workflow processing, or background jobs? Any guidance on the root cause or recommended resolution—without terminating the draft transaction—would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your insights.