📷 Team Performance Snapshot

Some people are made for people management. I am not one of them.

I don’t pay attention to details. I’m impatient. I make assumptions. I could go on…

…but I (slowly) realized my weaknesses hurt my team’s ability to be great. After a few years of swearing everyone should know how to read my mind 🧠, I built a simple team performance snapshot; a visual resource to drive alignment & clarity.

Each quarter, I assess my team’s overall performance by measuring what we wanted to achieve vs what we got done. I also measure the quality, quantity & complexity of the work. I use this snapshot to spark effective dialogue with my leaders, my peers, and my team.

Does my manager agree with my assessment of the team’s performance? I start by getting aligned with superiors before discussing my assessment broadly. I initiate a 2-way conversation with my manager, and I ask my manager to get feedback on my assessment from their peers.

Do cross-functional peer leaders agree with the assessment? Then, I use the snapshot to spark open dialogue with cross-functional leaders about ways we could improve working relationships to increase quality, quantity & complexity of work.

Does my team agree with the assessment? Finally, I review the snapshot with my team, celebrate wins, & discuss opportunities. Does this snapshot represent what it feels like on the team? What do we want to improve in the coming quarter, and how will we do it?

If you’re new to the OKR framework, I recommend this article. If you’re a human-centric leader responsible for planning & assessing talent, you might be interested in this article that outlines our Talent Strategy Baseline.