Leadership Institute

Reviewing Performance Progress

Learning Formats: Classroom; Comparable Web-Based Course is Performance Planning: Reviewing Progress.

Skill Practice Course

Order No. IMEX121

When it comes to executing organizational strategies, driving performance is critical. When leaders are able to effectively review progress toward achieving agreed-upon expectations, they strengthen the performance of the individual, the work group, and the organization.

This course helps leaders drive performance and accountability by replacing the “dread” of performance reviews with the “human touch” that builds trusting relationships with the people who report to them. Leaders learn to conduct effective discussions that recognize people's success and plan for their future development.

Do You Face Any of These Issues?

  • Do leaders and the people who report to them fear performance review discussions?
  • Are leaders bearing all the responsibility for monitoring, collecting, and analyzing performance data?
  • Do leaders have an unclear picture of how effectively the people in their work group are meeting their performance goals?
  • Are leaders surprising employees with feedback long after a situation has occurred?

Objectives

Helps leaders:

  • Use progress reviews as a business tool in guiding individuals, work groups, and the organization toward success.
  • Encourage people to sustain good performance and improve less-than-desirable results.
  • Build people's responsibility in monitoring, collecting, and analyzing performance data.
  • Handle challenging situations that can arise during progress review discussions.

Primary Competency

  • Aligning Performance for Success

Secondary Competencies

  • Building a Successful Team
  • Work Standards

Course Overview

  • The Performance Cycle: Learners identify the reasons leaders and the people who report to them dread appraisals. Learners discuss what's in it for the leader and the individual to have progress reviews and how review discussions support the achievement of organizational business goals and strategies. Leaders are introduced to the performance cycle.
  • Ongoing Tracking and Feedback: Learners watch a humorous video that illustrates the pitfalls that stop constructive progress reviews and learn tips for avoiding these pitfalls. Leaders learn the importance of ongoing tracking and interim progress reviews and also review tips for data and feedback collection. (Optional) After watching two video segments, learners prepare feedback as if they were the leaders in the video.
  • End-of-Cycle Review: Leaders learn the process for preparing for an end-of-cycle review, including how to help individuals prepare for review. Learners use a Discussion Planner to analyze a video model of a leader conducting a progress review discussion. Leaders prepare and practice leading a reviewing progress discussion using the situations they identified in prework.
  • Summary and Close: Referring to the list of reasons people dread performance review discussions, group members develop solutions to address those challenges back in the workplace.

Video Segment Summaries

  • A leader who is about to conduct end-of-cycle review discussions is visited by an unlikely coach who uses “extreme” methods to help the leader through the discussions.
  • A leader discusses progress in an end-of-cycle review with an individual who reports to him.
  • A leader provides feedback to an individual who reports to him regarding a customer's complaint about the person's performance. (Optional)

Details

  • Target audience: Frontline leaders through mid-level managers.
  • Course length: 3 hours, 30 minutes. Course can be lengthened with optional activities.
  • Facilitator certification: DDI-certified facilitator required.
  • Prerequisites: Essentials of Leadership.
  • Series: Suitable for all environments.
  • Group Size: 8 to 16 people.
  • Prework: Yes. 20-30 minutes.

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