Last week, a member asked for tools to use during performance discussions. The contents of Harvey Schachter’s December 1st Morning Manager column contains a relevant suggestion. The ideas in the column are provided by success coach Robin Sharma and revolve around putting things in writing to help evaluate progress.

Writing down our goals and progress allows us to easily see gaps. It also reminds us of previous commitments. 

Specifically, Sharma suggests that individuals “write the story of your year” and he makes some recommendations about what to include (scroll down to find the appropriate entry). Sharma also suggests that individuals “Write down the five to 10 lessons you learned this year.”

The full exercise could be very valuable if both a manager and his or her direct reports complete it and compare the results.

A simple T chart may also be helpful to assess progress against goals. Write goals on one side of the chart and record current progress on the other side. The completed chart will act as a visual tool for the manager and employee to use to identify goals that are on track and goals that require more attention.

Do you have any particular tools you use to facilitate performance management discussions?

References:

Schachter, Harvey. “Managing.” The Globe and Mail.com, Morning Manager [www.globeandmail.com]. December 1, 2008.