Helping People Managers Manage

During ATD25’s session, “Creating an In-House Developmental Feedback Program for Managers That Works!” Angela L.M. Stopper, chief learning officer and director of people and organization development at University of California, Berkeley, introduced the campus’s manager development program, Focused 90º. Rather than soliciting 360-degree feedback from managers, direct reports, and other stakeholders, the Focused 90º program collects feedback grounded in the campus’s performance evaluation Achievement Criteria only from a manager’s direct or dotted-line reports.

Stopper urged attendees who want to create a similar initiative to ensure that they have a culture of trust first. For example, UC Berkeley already required its manager to ask their direct reports, "What can I do to better support you?"

Building on that culture of dialogue and feedback, Stopper and her team developed the Focused 90º program.

Once the team collates the feedback, the manager meets with a coach and their supervisor. The coach, who has already seen the data, provides the manager with resources that the manager can consider using to develop themselves.

To assuage fears that employees might have about reprisal after providing feedback, Stopper’s team does not use exact quotes from evaluations. Rather, they use the collected feedback to develop themes on actions that managers can continue doing, start doing, and stop doing.

The order of those actions is intentional—many people are familiar with the Start, Stop, Continue framework, but individuals tend to shut down when they first hear about behaviors to change. Stopper’s team and the manager’s supervisor are available for additional coaching sessions or other support.

Stopper’s team uses artificial intelligence to aid in developing themes but ensures that human eyes have the first and last look at the outputs.

Managers can enroll in the Focused 90º program by opting in, or others—including their direct reports—can nominate them.

Read more about ATD25 at conferencedaily.td.org.