I am a Manager

Grow and Perform at Stanford (GPS) supports shifting performance management from a check-the-box experience to collaborative conversations that are aligned, meaningful, inspire growth, increase engagement and enhance the overall experience for our team members.

Ensuring these collaborative, two-way conversations with our team members are frequent throughout the performance management cycle results in an increased understanding of expectations, hurdles, and how contributions measure up, which positively impacts the work we are doing within our teams, departments and across the university. 

Below are tools and resources to help support your role as a manager for each phase of the GPS process:

• Goal Setting
• Check-ins
• Annual Review

Goal Setting

Goals help employees know what is expected of them in their position and help ensure you and your school/unit that employees are focused on the right things. As leaders, it is your responsibility to help your team member(s) see how their goals and the work they do contributes to the university's mission.

The goal-setting process is a collaborative effort between you and your team members. By taking a synergistic approach, you can set clear concrete and connected expectations for results and behaviors to foster a partnership for a successful year for you, your team, and your organization.

Goal Setting process:

Check-ins

As a manager, it is important to facilitate continuous coaching and encourage skill development, and goal progress. Two-way, open coaching conversations build a partnership for growth that allows you and your employee to recalibrate, course-correct, celebrate successes and continue to stay aligned. 

As performance for the first half of the year is reviewed, areas of improvement will surface and as a manager, you are expected to provide specific input and guidance to help your employees perform at their highest potential. GPS suggests using ESLA, a model for feedback that takes a growth mindset and the SCARF model into account in the context of performance conversations.

Check-In Process:

Annual Reviews

Annual performance conversations with your team members allow you to deliver fair and actionable assessments that help prioritize, summarize and celebrate accomplishments, provide meaningful feedback, discuss growth opportunities, and realign for the upcoming performance year. 

Below are resources to help you drive impactful and inclusive performance conversations where your team member feels listened to and respected, and leaves them with a shared understanding of where they stand. When performance conversations are impactful, every interaction between you and your employee becomes an opportunity to inspire learning, growth, and discretionary effort.

Annual Review process: