I created this for all of my PM reports. It can be used similarly to a PIP, but I actually ask all of my PMs to own their version of this so we can use it to track performance and have productive conversations every 6-12 weeks. We can decide whether that person should double down on strengths or focus on development areas together, and write out examples of what that could look like.

For anyone who is an average or strong performer, this is just a tool we use between us. For anyone who is a poor performer or on a PIP, I share with HR.

After we have an initial conversation about performance (3 months in), I'd expect my PM to come to me and say they want to do a performance check in. I would want the PM to drive the process by self reflecting first before we talk about it together. If I fill this out in advance without having a conversation, it doesn't give me a lot of room to understand their own expectations and reflections. I don't want to be presumptive and I don't want to be prescriptive. We fill out the comments and examples together so that there's a sense of co-creation and it creates buy in.

These attributes all map directly to the career ladder.

This is a little messy because we did check in a little bit more often. We changed statuses and added things like "improving." Sometimes our check ins were just "here's a status change" and other times there was more discussion. We check in at least every quarter, if not more often for people with more performance issues. Some team members really liked having examples so are sure to include them.

In the case where people have a larger number of development areas, I work with them to pick 2-3 things to focus on first. I don't want someone to get overwhelmed and think it's going to be impossible to improve in this role. You can't do everything, so it's a helpful way for them to prioritize.

How we pick where to focus depends on the seniority of the person and how far away they are from a development focus area changing to an on-track status. I would weigh that with the bandwidth they have as well as the near term needs of the role. It's a bit of an art and science.

"Talent" is an obvious one to deprioritize when your team isn't hiring. Data Analytics can be something to focus on after something is launched and needs monitoring and iteration.

I think examples are a great way to learn, and some people really like having them. There's the theoretical "how you should do things" and then there's the practical. If you've done something before, it's easy to say "that makes sense, here's how to do this." If you don't have as much experience, having real life examples can help bridge that gap. The examples aren't necessarily prescriptive; I'm just saying "this is a good example, see how you can emulate it in your own way."

Things that are celebrated internally are also great way to subtly set expectations. In my experience, it hasn't led to accusations of favoritism or problems. I try to pick a diverse set of examples and they don't always have to come from PMs. I will sometimes pick examples from other functions, like customer success.

For PMs who are new to Product and/or learning a new domain area, this is a good specific type of task. "Development Focus Area" doesn't necessarily mean you're bad at it; it often just means it's a ramp up area.

It's easy to decide whether to focus on career development or termination when someone's clearly in the green or clearly in the red (respectively). When someone's in the yellow, it gets harder. As an empathetic person, you want to give someone a chance.

My approach has been to give someone coaching and timebox it to roughly 90 days. Then see if s/he is comfortable with accelerated coaching; if not, there's your answer. It's up to you and the person to decide how long that timeframe is.

Japna Sethi

I used this framework with all my direct reports to drive continued performance improvement and help them mature in their product careers. This artifact has sample performance data across multiple examples of excelling beyond expectations and performing below expectations. 

Performance Action Plan Template at Productboard

Performance Action Plan and Tracker

Vision and Strategy

Execution

Collaboration and Leadership

Talent

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