Nonprofit Staffing: Maintaining Corporate Identity When Growth Occurs

Then, ask the manager: "If John Doe gave himself a four and you think he deserves a two, what does John need to do to get a five?" Even the novice manager is rarely at a loss for identifying specific steps that would lead to a five rating.

This process gives the manager a practical means to establish work goals for every employee supervised. It also provides a goal sheet that the manager and employee can discuss jointly at regular intervals. (Weekly progress discussions are optimal, workload permitting.) From this point on, everything that manager does with that employee is training toward goal accomplishment. The beauty of this approach is its simplicity and straightforwardness. Once learned, it becomes an ingrained technique.