PCW Detailed Facilitator Guide

Facilitating PROFILOR Group Feedback Sessions Facilitator Guide

Facilitating PROFILOR® Group Feedback Sessions

Overview

Purpose The purpose of the PROFILOR Group Feedback Session is to help individuals understand their PROFILOR results. During the session, individuals also identify the purpose and value of PDI’s Development FIRST strategies for self-development and tools to create a development plan.

Audience Constituents of PDI-certified feedback facilitators who have taken The PROFILOR and are ready to receive their feedback.

Session Length 4 hours

Learning Approach The session is designed to be interactive and provide opportunities for questions and shared understanding of the technical and interpretive aspects of the instrument and the application of development strategies and planning tools.

Overall Learning As a result of this learning session, participants will be able to: Objectives  Identify the purpose and value of PDI’s PROFILOR development tool.  Interpret their PROFILOR results with the assistance of a PDI-certified feedback facilitator.  Apply PDI’s Development FIRST strategies for self-development to help ensure successful ongoing development.  Create an effective development plan. Participant  Participant Handout (PowerPoint slides printed 3 per page to allow for note taking) Materials  Maria Anderson Sample Report (Standard or Color) printed 2-sided  Sealed PROFILOR feedback reports distributed during the session  Handout: Creating Your Development Plan

PowerPoint Slides A set of PowerPoint slides designed to support learning. Substitute slides 17 through 44 with slides 81 through 109 when recipients when using The PROFILOR color report format.

Additional Resources associated with the PCW include: (Optional)  PDI’s Certified Feedback Facilitator Website resources: www.personneldecisions.com/certification Resources  The Successful Manager’s Handbook, Gebelein, et. al., Personnel Decisions International, 2004.  Leader As Coach, David Peterson and Mary Dee Hicks, Personnel Decisions International, 1996.  Development FIRST, David Peterson and Mary Dee Hicks, Personnel Decisions, International, 1995.

Participant Prior to attending the session, participants complete the PROFILOR data collection process and are Pre-work subsequently notified that their reports are ready for distribution during the session.

Participant Depending on the client’s objectives, participants may be expected to: Post-work  Complete and implement his/her own development plan with the involvement of his/her manager and/or local Human Resources contact.  Meet with his/her manager quarterly to discuss progress to the plan.

Facilitator  Check status of feedback report processing. If you do not have access to PDI’s Quick Access Tool Preparation (QAT) for event management, check with an authorized user to confirm that reports have been processed and received on site in time for distribution during the session. For the best results, participants attending a group feedback session should all have taken the same PROFILOR model.  Copies of a PROFILOR standard report, one copy per participant.  Sealed PROFILOR feedback reports to be distributed during the session. Some programs require that 360 participants receive their reports in advance of the group session in which case participants will bring their reports to the session.  Gather audience analysis data. Note the names of individuals attending the session as well as what functional areas, team, groups or lines of business will be represented. Check for reporting relationships with a given session. You will also want to learn more about cultural sensitivities that may exist with the areas in which these participants work.  Arrange facilities and logistics and determine session times. Typically group session schedules are

arranged far in advance to accommodate busy schedules.  Reflect on skill requirements for leading group feedback sessions. These sessions require the same facilitating and initiating skills to help feedback recipients understand and make use of their PROFILOR results. However, additional stand-up training skills will need to be considered to manage a 4-hour session. Contact your local training and development representative for more information on train-the-trainer tips, tools and techniques.

Facilitator  Gather notes and observations on the session including insights noted by the participants. Follow-Up Communicate these to the participants along with a summary of the session.  If your responsibilities include further interaction with any of the feedback recipients, schedule a follow-up session with the recipient and potentially his or her boss.  Update stakeholders and HRIS databases appropriately that the session was held. No information should be exchanged about the recipients’ individual reactions to the feedback, or the specifics of the feedback whether positive or negative.  Some 360 designs legitimately call for feedback recipients to discuss their development plans with their boss or even to provide a copy of their development plans to human resources. Having a plan and visibly working a development plan only can be considered data points for decision making as related to the PROFILOR. Requiring recipients to share details of their feedback is not consistent with the validity and research of The PROFILOR instrument and is considered unacceptable and non- defensible.

Client Sponsor  Pre-Session: Communicate with registered participants clarifying the role of the PROFILOR Accountabilities instrument in the larger context of the organization’s development culture.  Post Session: Communicate with individuals who have completed the session to clarify accountabilities for development and periodic progress reviews.

Session Topics

Time Topic

20 Introduction

20 The Competency Model

50 Interpretation of PROFILOR Results

70 Individual Review of PROFILOR Feedback

20 Learning and Development

50 Development FIRST Strategies and Development Planning

5 Next Steps

5 Closing

Detailed Facilitator Guide: Facilitating Group Feedback Sessions

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials 20 1. Introduction

Welcome participants, and introduce yourself providing a brief overview of your Slide: Welcome! The background. (Focus on your experience with instrumentation, feedback, facilitation, PROFILOR Group and coaching as appropriate). Feedback Session

Review learning objectives for the session. Slide: Session Objectives Ask participants to introduce themselves within their table groups (2-min each) with the following. Then Ask several individuals to identify what they would like to get Slide: Introductions out of the session.  Name.  Location and role within the organization.  One thing that would make today a valuable investment of time.

Explain how the feedback and development planning from The PROFILOR process is Slide: Why Get 360 positioned in the organization. State: Feedback?  Why we are doing this and why it is important.  How the process got started and who the organization’s champions are. Slide: Organizational Position why this is important to the organization. Results  Present the organizational results that are expected. Note: Facilitator will  Explain that the feedback received becomes a cornerstone for self-development. complete this slide with specific results  Describe how the PROFILOR process provides an opportunity to have an honest expected by the and ongoing dialogue with your respondents which can lead to improving organization. relationships.

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials  Share that PDI research shows that people who plan their development share their plans with their boss, take some action steps and regularly monitor their progress, do change. Slide: Agenda Review the agenda for the session.

Cover logistics issues (lunch, breaks, rest rooms, smoking areas, ending time etc). Slide: About Briefly introduce PDI, using the information on slides as appropriate. Personnel Decisions Comment: “PDI’s global reach extends itself to nearly every continent. Its 28 International (PDI) offices provide consulting services for diverse cultures with different needs. Its clients are prestigious, both large and small with the same attention to each.” Slide: The Present background on The PROFILOR both past and present. PROFILOR: Then and Now. Comment: “The PROFILOR was developed as a result of the expressed needs of leaders and individual contributors who received less meaningful feedback as they moved up in organizations. The primary purpose of The PROFILOR was to give individuals feedback and insight into what they could do differently to increase their effectiveness (through skills and behaviors). Today, The PROFILOR continues to give individuals feedback and insight with a focus on skills and behaviors, not on style. The PROFILOR feedback is a beginning step, not an end in itself. It provides insight on how individuals are seen by others. Then, they have an opportunity to increase the level of communication with their managers and others who provided the feedback.”

Transition by linking the importance of the PROFILOR process to the selected competencies necessary to be successful in the organization.

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials 20 2. The Competency Model Slide: The Comment: “The PROFILOR is a critical leadership development tool for gaining Competency Model performance insight. It was developed in response to a need expressed by many executives, managers, individual contributors and others with whom PDI has worked over the years. Many of these individuals felt that as they moved up the corporate ladder, they received less and less feedback. And, the feedback they did receive was often sugar-coated or too general to be useful.

The PROFILOR was designed to provide people feedback on their behavior that others — above, below and lateral to them in the organization — observed in their everyday work.” Slide: The Present the PDI Model used for the group and explain the factors as ways to organize PROFILOR Wheel skills. for Mid-Level Leaders (Note: The Facilitator Point out the difference between the factors and skills. will substitute the appropriate wheel to be used.) Explain that these factors and skills are the ones that the organization believes best represent the skills that leaders need today and tomorrow.

Indicate that observable, measurable behaviors define each skill and were presented in the form of a questionnaire which participants and their respondents completed.

Indicate that they will be receiving feedback on these factors, skills, and behaviors within the feedback report.

Transition with: “Let’s look at a set of PROFILOR results to see how the feedback is organized around behaviors that define the factors and skills.”

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials 50 3. Interpretation of PROFILOR Results

Provide basic assumptions on how The PROFILOR should/should not be used within organizations.

“It is extremely important for you to know the confidentiality policy regarding PROFILOR feedback data. Feedback from a development 360 is not used in decision making under any circumstances. However, individuals who are interested in promotion or are part of a succession planning process are sometimes called on to submit their development plans and progress for review, which is completely appropriate.”

“You own the data – that is, no copies of your report will be viewed by anyone other than certified feedback facilitators. Online data collection is transmitted in an encrypted state through a series of secured socket layers and is stored at a location known only to a small handful of PDI Information Technology specialists.”

“Questionnaire responses are not visible to anyone other than the respondent when actually answering the questions. Responses for perspectives other than Boss are rolled up to ensure anonymity. You are encouraged and sometimes required to create and share a brief summary of your feedback. If it is shared, it is usually in the form of development objectives or an executive summary which we’ll discuss later.” Slide: Facts About PROFILOR Feedback Show Facts About PROFILOR Feedback. “The focus is on development, so raters may be more honest in giving feedback. The feedback is multi-perspective that acts like a 3-, 4- or 5-way mirror, so feedback is from different points of view than many individuals typically hear. PROFILOR feedback is anonymous (except boss), so respondents can feel more

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials comfortable giving candid feedback.

The PROFILOR measures “perceptions” but not necessarily “truths,” so the feedback is on how individuals’ actual behaviors are perceived by others. The feedback is comprehensive and specific, so it is very actionable and provides a lot of feedback in one dose.

The feedback typically provides normative comparisons, so individuals can compare their ratings to others in similar roles. PROFILOR feedback helps individuals take responsibility for their own development.”

Comment: “What an individual does with the information is his or her choice. The organization is asking that individuals to develop, and it is taking steps to invest resources in their development, but The PROFILOR results belong only to you. It is now going to be up to you to do something meaningful with the information.”

Transition with: “In addition to these facts about The PROFILOR, it is important to understand the confidential nature of the instrument.” Slide: Confidentiality and Data Integration Emphasize confidentiality and data integration. “PROFILOR Feedback Reports are designed specifically for DEVELOPMENT ONLY. The results belong to the individual feedback recipient. Feedback recipients receive all copies of the report; only group reports are shared with others in the organization and these reports are stripped of any information that could identify individuals. The PROFILOR data will NOT be used for decision- making by HR or others.” Slide: Perceptions

Discuss the nature of perceptions as it applies to feedback.

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials State the quote and share examples of a feedback recipient surprised by feedback. “We are measured not by what we are, but by the perception of what we seem to be; Not by what we say, but how we are heard; and not by what we do, but how we appear to do it.” Slide: Behaviors vs. Intentions vs. Offer an example: Perceptions “A woman was surprised to learn during a feedback session that she was not seen as approachable. This was the opposite of her intention — she thought it was very important for her to be approachable and fully intended to be.

After seeking some additional feedback, she found that others saw her walking quickly through the halls deep in thought with arms folded, head down, serious expression, and walking quickly. She also learned that she had a tendency to keep her office door partially closed so she would not be distracted by noise in the halls, and her guest chair was always covered in books.

In effect, this person had a blind spot that became obvious to her and she was able to make some simple changes, including letting others know of her intention to be very approachable and why she thought it was so important.”

Introduce the relationship between intentions, behaviors, and other’s perceptions.

“Let’s take a few minutes to think about the relationships between your intentions, your behaviors, and others’ perceptions – and how you think this may play out in your own experience.”

“Of these three, which do we tend to rate ourselves on?” (Intentions)

“Which do others rate us on?” (Their perceptions of our behaviors.)

“This is often the key to understanding the differences between self ratings and

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials rating by others. Only we know what our intentions are. Others can only go by what they see and hear us do and/or the results or outputs of our behavior.”

“Then, they add their own interpretations of our behavior to form their perceptions. Perceptions are not the same as ‘truth.’ So, why was it again that we wanted to measure others’ perceptions anyway?”

Ask the group for personal examples of when their behaviors and intentions did not match the perceptions of others.

Comment: “This relationship between perceptions, behaviors and intentions is an important concept to keep in mind as you think through PROFILOR results especially when you are surprised or confused by the feedback.”

Transition by moving the participants from general overview to a targeted view of interpreting and explaining PROFILOR feedback reports. Slide: Key Questions to Consider Briefly introduce the Key Questions to Consider to help participants focus on the feedback from the sample PROFILOR Feedback Report. Maria Anderson Sample Report Distribute and introduce the sample PROFILOR Feedback Report (either black and (Color Slide white or color and be prepared to exhibit the PowerPoint slides that match the report Reference) being used during the session).

Slide: The Walk through each section of The PROFILOR Feedback Report. Pause often for PROFILOR Feedback questions or to clarify key points. Indicate that there is a lot of information in the Report report and it will take more than one pass to grasp it entirely. Provide an overview of the three sections (Summary Information, Detailed Information, and Development Highlights) as described on the Introduction page of the report. Slide: Inside Cover (Color Report: Inside Cover)

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials Slide: Overview of Introduction — “The introduction explains the nature of the data in the report in The PROFILOR terms of its level of specificity and type. Note that development highlights are also Feedback Report described.” (Color Report)

Skill Definitions — “Skill definitions for the model in question are presented in Slide: Introduction this section. Maria would want to identify how these skills relate to the role she plays in the organization and any challenges she may face.” Slide: Skill Definitions

Importance Summary — “This section highlights the relative importance of 2 Slides: Importance skills as determined by Maria and her boss. There are different symbols to Summary indicate each person’s ratings. We recommend distributing equally across the three degrees of relative importance, but the recommendation is just that. It is possible for Maria and her bosses to override the distribution.”

“When determining the meaning of these ratings, it is important for Maria to consider the degree to which she and her boss agree on relative importance. Note that discrepancies of 3 points or more are considered statistically significant. You may also see patterns within Factors to show discrepancies across the Skills in a given Factor.” 2 Slides: Skills Skills Overview — “Next, let’s look at the Skills Overview section which contains Overview performance ratings and contrasts self ratings and others’ rating. As we look at (Color Report: Skills the Skills Overview, we’ll look at the 3 highest and 3 lowest rated skills and Overview – Self- determine if the self (or Maria) ratings are significantly higher or lower than Ratings Compared to others’ ratings. Here is where we begin to see actual skill ratings. As you can see, Average of All the skill areas are all listed down the left side, and the frequency rating scale is Respondents) across the top. Again we have symbols representing the Self and Others. Note that the responses of all others are averaged with the boss’s ratings given the weight of an average.”

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials

“The DISC column marks any skill area where Maria rated herself notably (.5 or more) higher or lower than others rated them.”

“The IMP column indicates which skill areas the boss(es) and self rated as critical in importance, as we saw in the previous section.”

“The Gray Bar represents the middle 50 percent of where the feedback recipients in our normative database were rated by their respondents. Therefore, if the white box falls to the right of the gray bar that indicates the feedback recipient (like Maria) was rated in the upper 25 percent compared to the norm group or beyond the norm group rating.”

“The Key at the bottom of this page and the other pages of the report is a great reminder.”

“This section reflects how Maria and all other raters see her performance in terms of importance ratings for each skill. One might start by identifying the 3 highest and 3 lowest rated skills and skills where the self ratings are notably higher (.5 or more) or lower (.5 or more) than others ratings. One can also see where Maria’s ratings from others (white box) are compared to PDI norms (gray bar) and which of these Maria and her boss rated as critical.”

”What does this overview tell you about Maria Anderson?” “What are her three highest rated skills and three lowest?” “Where are the discrepancies greater than .5?” “How does she compare to the PDI norms?” ”What questions do you have about how to read this section?”

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials

Perspective Comparisons — “In the next section, called Perspective 3 Slides: Perspective Comparisons (or Skills Overview – Group Comparisons if you are using Maria Comparisons Anderson sample color report), we start to really get the flavor of 360 feedback. (Color Report: Skills Here the white box from the previous section has been broken out into each of the Overview – Group individual perspective groups. Again, along the top of the page you will see the Comparisons) rating scale, and the skill areas are all listed down the left-hand column.”

“The gray bars here now represent the middle 50 percent of how feedback recipients (like Maria) in our database were rated by their bosses, peers, etc.”

“In this section, it is important to look for agreement and discrepancies across groups and consider why this may be different and/or similar for specific skills. Pay special attention to skills where there are large discrepancies (+/- 1.5) across perspectives.”

“Then look for patterns across perspectives and/or skill areas. One thing we suggest doing to make these kinds of patterns easier to see, is to connect the dots for each perspective group. This is true only for the standard report. Obviously the color report is designed to have these patterns stand out more prominently. For example, you would connect all the ‘Self’ ratings together with one color, then all the ‘Boss’ dots together with another color, and so on.”

“How can Maria make use of the data in this section?” “What does the perspective comparison provide for her attention and focus?” ”What questions do you have about how to read this section?”

Specific Question Results — “This section provides averaged ratings by 2 Slides: Specific perspective group on each behavior in the competency model. This section is quite Question Results large but very useful for researching information on which behaviors in a given (Color Report: skill areas are rated higher or lower.” Detailed Ratings)

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials

“Again, we see the skill areas listed down the left-hand side, but now we also see listed the items that were used to measure each skill area. Across the top of each page we see a heading for each perspective group included in the data. In the Maria Anderson sample report, for example, the S=self, B=boss, DR=Direct Reports, PR=Peers, and AVG=non-self average.”

“Under each of those groups of respondents, you see the average rating for each skill area and item. The AVG column provides the average rating of all perspective groups, except the self ratings, on each skill area and item.”

“The column labeled SMH lists a page number from the 7th edition of the Successful Manager’s Successful Manager’s Handbook where development suggestions for that specific Handbook item can be found.”

“On the standard report, brackets [ ] indicate the 1 or 2 highest rated items within each skill area from that perspective group. Parenthesis ( ) indicate the 1 or 2 lowest rated items within each skill area from that perspective group. This helps Maria spot high or low rating trends across behaviors and within a given perspective.”

“Discrepancies of 1.5 or greater across perspectives (or groups) are considered statistically significant.” Development Guide “For the specific skill areas Maria may want to focus on, she should take note of (Standard Report Use and highlight the specific behaviors that were rated highest and lowest within that Only) skill area. This will help make the development plan more targeted and actionable to get maximum impact from her development efforts. To avoid getting bogged down in detail, p. 15 of the Development Guide points out three items to consider (strengths, patterns, development needs).”

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials

“What does this section tell you about Maria?” “Which behaviors does he/she do well?” “Which need work?” “Where do you see discrepancies in item ratings?” “What questions do you have about how to read this section?” Slide: Composites Composites — “Special composites are combinations of items that were already reported as part of other skill areas. Not all feedback reports contain composites. They are, however, included in several of PDI’s standard reports. Composites are multi-dimensional skill sets. The items chosen for inclusion in a composite are based on literature reviews and PDI research and represent an aspect of a role that individuals will want to pay special attention to such as Empowerment or Career Issues.”

“In Maria Anderson’s report, there is a single composite report called the Overall Performance Composite measure.” Slide: Overall Overall Performance Composite — “The Overall Performance Composite is a Performance measure of the bottom-line results and the degree to which the feedback recipient Composite (like Maria) is perceived as getting results in the organization. The items used to measure this are not behavioral like the rest of the report.”

“The rest of the report focuses on how others see Maria getting things done (behaviors), whereas the overall performance items measure whether or not respondents see Maria getting things done (results) using multiple behavior to achieve those results. Therefore, it is possible that the overall performance composite ratings will be notably lower or higher relative to the rest of the report.”

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials “Can you think of any situations where that would be the case?” “Any surprises here given what we have already learned about Maria?” “What questions do you have about how to read this section?” 3 Slides: Highest and Highest and Lowest Ratings — “These sections report the behaviors that were Lowest Ratings rated highest overall and lowest overall, as measured by the non-self average. This section provides a perfect opportunity to identify patterns and themes in the data.”

“Usually twenty of each type of behavior is listed, but custom model requirements could dictate fewer. Ideally, the things that are most important to the role and to the feedback recipient’s personal aspirations end up on the highest page and the things least important to their role or aspirations end up on the lowest page. But that is not always the case and therefore proves a case for development for most individuals.”

“Based on this, where do you think Maria might want to focus her development?” “Why?” “What questions do you have about how to read this section?” 5 Slides : Focus for Focus for Development — “The Focus for Development section is a computer Development generated set of suggestions for focusing attention on development. This section (Color Report: presents both strengths and areas for improvement. The results are based on Targeting ratings alone, ratings plus importance ratings and in some cases, ratings factored Development with importance ratings and relativity to the norm.” Priorities)

“The standard and color reports depict both strengths and areas for improvement as seen by each boss who completed the questionnaire. The standard report offers an additional listing – general Strengths which is a pure listing of the highest or lowest ratings as seen by others.”

“While this is helpful information, keep in mind that the computer does not have

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials access to other helpful information upon which feedback recipients (like Maria) will base their development decisions. Other data points for decision-making include career and personal aspirations, values and goals, the specifics of their current work situation, and so forth.”

”What key strengths stand out to you from Maria’s report?” “Are there some that show up in more than one box?” ”What key development needs stand out to you from Maria’s report? “Are there some that show up in more than one box?” Slide: Understanding Relative to the Norm “The concept of Relative to the Norm ratings can be confusing. Let’s look at a quick example on this slide. Each of these skill areas are rated a 4.0. Which one is rated highest relative to the norm mean (Build Relationships)? Which is second highest, third highest and lowest (Coach and Develop, Analyze Issues, Know the Business)?”

“What questions do you have about how to read this section?” 2 Slides: Development Development Suggestions — “There are development suggestions included in all Suggestions standard models except executive-level models. Development suggestions are generated for the lowest rated items – usually the ten lowest rated items. Maria Successful Manager’s (like all feedback recipients) can review these suggestions to see how she might Handbook develop in the areas she most wants/needs to work on. Feedback recipients can also refer to the Successful Manager’s Handbook for more suggestions for developing those behaviors and a wealth of others.”

“What ideas do you have for development activities for Maria?” “What questions do you have about how to read this section?” 2 Slides: Written Comments Written Comments — “These are verbatim comments from respondents. Written (Color Report:

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials comments provide an opportunity for the feedback recipients to gain further clarity Comments) on skill areas that are strong, areas that could use work and other suggestions.”

“When reading written comments, it is often most helpful to focus on the themes identified in previous sections of the report – especially those sections that detail comparisons between rater groups. It is not useful to spend time trying to figure out who said what.”

“There are no written comments in Maria’s report. The sample reports contain live data. Therefore all identifiers of the person’s identity have been removed including written comments.”

“What questions do you have about how to read this section?”

70 Transition with: “Prior to looking at our own feedback results, we’ll discuss key questions we’ll want to ask ourselves as we review our own PROFILOR reports.

4. Individual Review of PROFILOR Feedback Slide: Key Questions to Consider Share the key questions individuals can ask themselves when the feedback data reveals that their behaviors or intentions do not match others’ perceptions.

“Do I understand the feedback?” “If not, more information may be needed. You may want to think through a few questions on your own or with someone you trust.”

I want to encourage you to seek answers to what could be causing others to see you this way and to question if your behaviors are out of alignment with your intentions?

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials Look at the differences across perspectives asking yourselves what else might others be seeing, feeling, or thinking that I did not intend?”

“Is the feedback valid and accurate?”

Remind them that validity and accuracy are dependent on the perceptions of others and their experiences with the recipient. Suggest that one explanation for data that feel inaccurate is The “SARA” Model which we’ll look at in a few minutes.

“Is it important?” “While the perception may be accurate, not all skills are as important to the job. We advise you to focus on the data that is MOST important to effectiveness in your role, to your own goals and values, and to your longer- term success. It is those things that are personally important that will get your attention and energy.”

“Do I want to change?” “Again, the focus is on personal motivation. People have to want to make changes for the right reasons in order to keep up the necessary focus and effort.”

Distribute individual PROFILOR results with these directions: “Take 70 minutes to study your report. Focus on the messages from each group of respondents. Use a pen to circle the surprises and highlight the strengths and development needs. I’ll be circulating to answer questions. In the Perspective Comparisons (Skills Overview – Group Comparison) you may want to connect the ratings by perspective using a Development Guide different color line for each perspective.” (Color Report: Targeting Note: Another option would be to have the participants complete p. 7, 11, and 21 in Development Priorities the Development Guide (Targeting Development Priorities section, color report). Section)

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials

Debrief by indicating that responses to the following questions are entirely voluntary.

Add that sharing sometimes provides insight from others to help understand feedback.

Transition with: “As I mentioned earlier, we may doubt the accuracy or validity of the feedback through emotions captured in the SARA model. What do you think S-A-R-A stands for?” Using a flipchart with the acronym S-A-R-A in vertical letters, record their responses. Slide: The “SARA” Model Explain SARA and solicit personal examples of these emotions during the feedback process.

 “S stands for the Surprise or Shock that someone may express about the feedback. There is almost always something that is a bit of a surprise. Sometimes individuals are truly shocked by the responses.”

 “A stands for Anger which can be seen as anxiety, annoyance, frustration, bitterness, or withdrawal. This stage can also be experienced through emotions of hurt or sadness. There is almost always something that is at least mildly annoying or hurtful to an individual in their feedback. Some people may even become quite angry which could be more of a shock reaction.”

 “R stands for Resistance to or Rejection of the feedback and/or the source of it. Individuals may rationalize why change is not possible or that the need for change is not real. They may be defensive about the accuracy of the data.”

 “A stands for Acceptance – in this case acceptance of the feedback. Acceptance can be seen as the point at which a person is ready to take action in a positive constructive fashion. An individual begins to reshape his/her thoughts about self and situation and takes a more future-oriented view.

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials

Acceptance, in this situation, simply means the person has reached a point where he/she can accept that these are the perceptions of a specific group of people at a specific point in time, and he/she can decide what, if anything, he/she wants to do about it.”

Comment: “It is important to note that individuals progress through the stages at different speeds and depths and not typically in a distinct, linear fashion.”

Ask for a show of hands: “Who found at least one surprise in their feedback?” “Who discovered a possible blind spot as a result of analyzing feedback from others?” “How many of you noticed rating differences across the perspectives?”

Ask participants to share within their table groups their general reaction to the feedback they received and how the feedback relates generally to the challenges they face on the job.

Remind participants that their participation in the discussion is completely voluntary.

Provide additional guidance for the discussion depending on the make-up of the group and their overall comfort level with sharing. Slide: Pushback from Feedback Recipients Introduce pushbacks covering each one listed on the slide. “Sometimes we may feel like ‘So, who cares?’ That can be called a pushback which can cause adverse reactions. Here are the typical reasons we push back (Cover each of the 10 reasons). If you are honest with yourselves, these may be some of the things you may need to work on in order to gain the full value of this feedback.”

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials 2 Slides: Do’s and Point out the Do’s and Don’ts of Seeking Additional Feedback. Don’ts of Seeking “Sometimes after reviewing your feedback, you may want more information. Let’s Additional Feedback look at the Do’s and Don’ts of Seeking Additional Information.” Slide: Guidelines for Provide Guidelines for seeking Additional Feedback. Ask participants to comment on Seeking Additional the guidelines. Feedback

Indicate that although The PROFILOR provides an enormous amount of feedback, the data more often than not begs additional questions.

Comment: “Please be thoughtful when seeking additional feedback. Seeking additional feedback most often works best when we are not just asking for immediate 20 clarification of feedback, but also asking for ongoing feedback of our specific development objectives.”

5. Learning and Development Slide: Learning and Development Flipchart “What Development Is” and “What Development Isn’t.” Flipchart “Based on your experience, and/or your company point of view on employee development, what are some of your assumptions and beliefs about development? Let’s start by thinking about what development is and what it isn’t.”

Responses may include thoughts such as: Development is NOT: Automatic key to promotion; limited to attending a training class; optional, a quick fix designed to address a performance problem; dependent on the manager to drive this; fluff; an HR responsibility; a mechanical activity comprised of filling out forms, etc.

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials Development IS: Focused on growth in or beyond current role; designed to help us meet specific business needs; tangible/measurable; continuous; co-dependent on manager and employee; process vs. event oriented; critical element of performance excellence for managers and employees, etc.

Slide: Defining Define learning and development. Learning and Development “Let’s start with defining what we mean by learning and development. Most often we use these terms interchangeably, but there can be subtle differences. For our purposes today, we will consider the following distinctions:

Learning refers to acquiring new insight or capabilities, which may or may not be applied.

Development refers to making changes that improve performance and advance organizational or personal objectives.”

Transition by linking the definition of development with PDI’s Philosophy of Development.

“Seeing the results from The PROFILOR instrument can sometimes produce behavioral change just through awareness, but this is typically not as effective as creating and deploying very specific development plans.”

Review PDI’s Philosophy of Development using participant responses on the Slide: PDI Philosophy flipcharts for What Development Is and What Development Isn’t. of Development

“We see development as positive — as an investment in the future of both the individual and the organization — that taps into people’s natural drive to learn and grow. We believe people are motivated to do a good job and be successful.”

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials “We believe that effective development is proactive. The time to focus on development is before it’s needed, providing people the opportunity to fail and learn, and try again, and improve. Development is also future-focused, in contrast to performance evaluation, for example, which examines the past. Development focuses on where the person is headed and what will become most important in the future.”

“We view development as a true partnership; meaning, for development to be most effective and sustainable it needs to be a shared responsibility between the individual, the manager, and the organization. Development efforts must create value for both the person and the organization for real change to occur.”

“For development to be effective, it must meet the unique needs of individuals. While some may lack capability, and need to build skills, others, for example, may have the capability but lack the insight needed to fully leverage the skill. Therefore, one-size-fits all development solutions will never produce maximum results.”

“Development should provide a real challenge that stretches people out of their comfort zone. We know people are most engaged, and learn best, when the challenge presented is connected to something that is meaningful to both the individual and the organization.”

Ask participants which of the elements are present in their organization’s philosophy of learning and development and which would they add. Ask for observations of how these elements impact the people development in their organization.

Transition by connecting PDI’s Philosophy of Development with the PDI Development Pipeline.

Introduce the PDI Pipeline: Slide: The PDI “Let’s take a look at the pipeline conditions from the individual perspective,

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials looking at how these apply to an individual’s development and development Development Pipeline planning.”

Ask participants for examples of their development experiences in each segment of the Pipeline.

Remind participants that the constraints for each person’s development objectives may be very different.

Review the Pipeline in the context of the participant’s commitment to development. “Insight -- Do we know what we need to develop?”

“How clear are you on what is necessary and expected for success in your current role or a role to which you aspire? Are you fully aware of your own strengths and weaknesses related to this? Do PROFILOR feedback, performance reviews, etc. confirm your assumptions?”

“Motivation – Are you willing to invest the time and effort it takes to develop?”

“Is there a compelling reason for you to develop? For example, is further development required for success in your current position? Is development required for you to move into other positions? Is organizational change requiring new standards of performance? Would further development get you more of what you want and value at work?”

“Capabilities – Do you have the skills, knowledge, and experience you need to be successful?”

“What resources would help you achieve your development objective? Developing capabilities involves actively and explicitly learning new skills, practices, abilities,

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials and knowledge, which can be acquired in several ways, such as through coaching, workshops, formal education, shadowing, reading, etc.”

“Real-world Practice – Do you have the opportunities to apply new capabilities on the job?”

“Are you able to learn from that application with minimal risk? Practice is critical to embedding new behaviors. New learning begins to take hold and become a part of how a person thinks, makes decisions, and interacts with others.”

“Accountability – Will you feel a sense of accountability to stick with development in order to internalize new capabilities, and actually improve performance and results?”

“Individuals sometimes wonder if anyone is paying attention? And, if anyone will ask about what is being learned. Individuals also wonder if they will be recognized for developing.”

Ask participants to relate some examples of trying to teach others something and how the pipeline factored into the person’s learning.

Ask them to identify which segment of the pipeline may have been constrained.

Offer an example: trying to teach a child to ride a two-wheeler bike when they are afraid (motivation constrained.)

Summarize with: “The power of the pipeline is in identifying the constraints or bottlenecks. The only thing that will ensure a person’s development is by acting on the constrained area. Unless constraints are addressed, investments in any other parts of the

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials pipeline are wasted.”

Transition by positioning the PDI Development Pipeline as the foundation for planning for development.

Introduce participants to the concept that choosing where to focus is the most Development Guide important aspect of getting started with development. (Color Report: Planning for ”At PDI, we believe that the real question behind what to develop is not as much Development) a matter of leveraging a strength or improving in a weak area, but rather, where will the you gain the most leverage. In other words, where will development add Slide: Identifying the greatest value? When that question is answered, one will be able to begin Developing Priorities identifying priorities.”

“Why Develop Strengths? We often take our strengths for granted, never really honing them to reach our full potential…like a natural athlete or musician who doesn’t practice or challenge him/herself. Our strengths are typically faster, easier and more enjoyable to develop. Strengths are what makes us successful and represent the greatest value we can bring to our work and organization.”

“Why Develop Weaknesses? Weaknesses are often seen as career derailors or barriers to meeting goals. Our weaknesses also have an effect on others and tend to become more critical over time unless they are attended. It is very challenging to find ways to compensate for weakness. Developing our weaknesses is often misinterpreted to mean turning weaknesses into strengths. Most of the time, you will just need to develop these skills to a level where they are not barriers to effectiveness.”

Ask participants to take 3 or 4 minutes to review the pgs. 30-35 in the Sample Development Guide Development Guide (Planning for Development section in the color report.) (Color Report: Planning for

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials Ask: “How well does this mirror your own internal process?” Development)

Tell participants that they’ll be using the same steps in beginning their own development plan. Add that, in the next section, we will look more closely at a tool to help focus on priorities.

Discuss (as time allows) barriers they face with regard to implementing and fully optimizing their development plan.

Summarize how best to plan their development around leveraging strengths and focusing on on-the-job development activities.

Transition by staging the upcoming Development FIRST section as strategies that 50 can be applied in any development situation as needs arise.

6. PDI’s Development FIRST Strategies and Development Planning

Provide an overview of the Development FIRST Strategies. Slide: Development FIRST Strategies for Self-Development “The Development FIRST framework is based on sound research in adult learning and will help you think about development realistically and explicitly day to day. These strategies help remove fears that some individuals have that their lives will change dramatically as they attempt to make improvements. While development does take effort, simple strategies for success can be applied on a daily basis.”

Briefly state what FIRST stands for by naming the five strategies: Focus on Priorities, Implement Something New Every Day, Reflect on What Happens, Seek Feedback and Slide: PDI’s Support, Transfer Learning into New Steps. Development FIRST

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials Strategies Explain each of the five strategies using the slides as a framework. Entertain questions and stimulate discussion as time permits. Begin with Focus on Priorities.

Slide: Focus on “ F ocus on priorities Priorities Identify the most critical development priorities; clear goals, conscious choice.  Set clear priorities.  Agree on aligned goals: personal and organizational payoff.  Work on one or two objectives at a time. You will need to identify which specific behaviors need development for each skill area.” Slide: Using the GAPS Introduce the use of the GAPS Framework as a tool for determining development Framework to Focus priorities. on Priorities

“The GAPS Framework is a tool designed to help you identify what is most important to you and what is most important to the organization. It is an easy and very quick way to learn a lot about you and focus on the areas where there is the most energy and interest. Let’s look at steps that explain how to Slide: How to Use the use the GAPS Framework.” GAPS Framework

“Step 1 – Gather the information needed for each cell.”

“Make sure you have relatively complete and accurate information in each cell, without concern for disagreement between cells.”

“Step 2 – Analyze the information to identify development priorities.”

“Start with the right-hand column to identify what is most important to you and the organization. Then factor in the left-column sections to determine where

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials development can improve performance the most. In other words, where would additional development or new behavior provide the greatest value for you and the organization?”

“Step 3 – Select one or two development priorities to begin work on, based on your analysis.”

“Step 4 – Regularly review and refresh information.”

“In particular, Success Factors and Perceptions can change relatively quickly.” Slide: GAPS Grid Questions Show the slide, GAPS Grid Questions and say: “The GAPS information is organized into this grid. The questions in this grid help us to focus on what’s important.”

Suggest that participants refer to the behaviors listed under the skills in their PROFILOR report and consider those items that were rated relatively lower than the Handout: Creating others and develop objectives based on those skills. Your Development Plan Introduce the handout, Creating Your Own Development Plan. Let participants know that each step of the Development Plan mirrors the Development First Strategies. Slide: Create Your Development Plan: Review the three sections of guidelines for Step 1 of the Development Plan: Identify Step 1-Identify Development Priorities. Tell participants that they’ll be writing some objectives in a Development few minutes. Priorities

Introduce the next Development FIRST Strategy, Implement Something New Every Slide: Implement Day. Something New Every Day “ I mplement something new every day.

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials Stretch your comfort zone. Specify times, situations, and people that trigger development action. Build development activities into things they are already doing.” Sample Development Guide Tie Development FIRST strategies to setting priorities as described on pgs 30-35 in the Sample Development Guide (Planning for Development section of the color report.) Slide: Create Your Development Plan: Present Step 2 of Creating Your Development Plan., Identify Action Plans, as a way Step 2-Identify Action of implementing something new every day. Plans

Review tips to Specify Action Steps on p. 2 of the handout. Slide: Individual Work Provide direction: “We’ve covered two steps of the Development Plan. To begin your development planning, choose one strength and one development need you’d be comfortable working on and sharing with another person today. On p. 8-9 of the handout, write 1-2 objectives and action steps for each objective for the one strength and one development need. Take 15 minutes to begin your plan. Examples are on p. 6- 7.”

Pair up participants so they can receive feedback from their partner on their plans. Allow 8 minutes per person to critique plans. Remind participants that sharing is entirely voluntary.

Ask group: “Before we move to the next Development FIRST Strategy, what helpful feedback did you receive?” Slide: Reflect on What Happens Introduce the third Development FIRST Strategy, Reflect on What Happens.

“ R eflect on what happens.

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials To extract maximum learning from your experiences, build in time for reflection: make it part of a normal routine and establish methods to retain and refine lessons learned. You will need some time to reflect on the key messages you received from the feedback.”

“You will also need to consider what areas for improvement make most sense and where you have the most energy and enthusiasm, as well as reflect and think about what happens and how you learn from experience, mistakes, successes, and emotions.” Slide: Create Your Review tips for Step 3 of Creating Your Development Plan (Plan Time to Reflect). Development Plan: Step 3-Plan Time for Reflection Ask: “How will you build in time for reflection into your development plan?”

Introduce the fourth Development FIRST Strategy, Seek Feedback and Support. “ S eek feedback and support. Learn from others’ ideas and perspectives is a valuable learning experience. Identifying people, sources, and processes for getting relevant feedback and information is a way to get started. Slide: Seek Feedback Map progress against criteria for success. If you need further clarification and Support from PROFILOR respondents, you need to identify what kind of feedback you need, from whom you want to seek additional feedback, and the most effective ways to approach this request. Additional feedback from bosses is most effective in one-on-one meetings. Seeking feedback from direct reports will need to be accomplished in a group setting for best results. Additional feedback from peers, colleagues and others is most effective one-on-one in more casual conversations.” Slide: Create Your Development Plan Comment: “Step 4 of Create Your Development Plan is Involve Others (by seeking Step 4-Involve Others

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials feedback and support).”

Review tips to Involve Others. Highlight the examples of “Others” identified on pgs 6-7 of the handout.

Direct participants to add names of others (from whom they’d like feedback and support) plus target completion dates to their Development Plan on pgs. 8-9. Allow 6 minutes. Slide: Transfer Learning Into Next Present the last Development FIRST Strategy, Transfer Learning into Next Steps. Steps

“ T ransfer learning into next steps. Adapt and plan for continued learning. Adapt to significant changes. Decide to develop mastery. Move on to the next priority.

Coach others to share learning. As PROFILOR recipients, you are responsible for creating a development plan. Keep the plan simple, actionable and relevant to your needs and the needs of your organization.” Slide: Create Your Development Plan Step 5-Monitor Introduce Step 5 of Create Your Development Plan, Monitor Against Success Against Success Criteria. Criteria

Review tips to Monitor Against Success Criteria.

Begin summary with: “Having a plan in place is an excellent head start. Studies show that individuals with plans are more likely to actually put development activity in action. Be opportunistic, take intelligent risks, and ask for feedback and

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials ideas. Continue to get the most learning from your experiences by stepping outside your habitual ways of doing things and becoming a conscious learner. Be continuously on the lookout for opportunities to do something differently, and reflect on how it goes.”

Ask and say: “How will you monitor your progress and identify your successes? You will want to include this information in your development plans to help recognize and celebrate success or potentially the need to get back on track.” Development FIRST Book Summarize by explaining that applying Development FIRST strategies support development that “sticks” and therefore helps ensure development progress will be made over time. Refer participants to the Development FIRST book for additional information. Slide: Create Your Development Plan Transition with a recap of Development First and the 5 Steps of Create Your 5 Development Plan. Relate their Development Plans to the Next Steps.

7. Next Steps Slide: Next Steps Comment: “As we plan our next steps, it’s important to have a development planning meeting with your boss as soon as possible. First, you’ll gain valuable insight from Slide: Development your manager concerning the plan itself. Secondly, if your manager is aware of your Planning Meeting plan and buys into it, he or she will be more supportive when you come back for Model assistance or resources.” Slide: Suggestions for Introduce the concept of sharing feedback highlights with managers and other Meeting with Your respondents. Ask participants to recall the benefits of such support and the dos and Manager don’ts for meeting with each group or individual.

Leading Group Feedback Sessions Resources, Supplies, and Materials Slide: Sharing Introduce the guidelines and suggestions for meeting with managers and sharing Feedback with feedback with respondents. Discuss as time permits. Respondents

Slide: What Are Your Next Steps? Discuss next steps with participants. Flipchart response for next steps.

Ask: “What barriers do you see in doing this? What has worked for you in the past?”

5 Transition by saying: “You have made a step today that puts you ahead of others. You have a plan of action for development.” Slide: Development 8. Closing Investment Quote Show quote and say: “Invest in a plan for development, not a development plan. Spend more time on development than on development planning.”

Ask: “What are the actions you can take today that will show your commitment to development?” Discuss as time permits.

Congratulate participants on taking the first step. Encourage them to call with questions. Slide: Thank You

Thank participants for their interest, participation, and energy.