Controlling Progress

The ability to control the progress of employees’ processes, tasks, or activities and of one’s own work and responsibilities.

works in a structured manner (and manages his/her time well)
likes to be informed
is disciplined

provides clear deadlines
checks progress regularly
uses his/her planner effectively, sets deadlines for him/herself
makes appointments with employees in order to provide feedback on their performance
notices and minimizes work slowdowns

defines objectives for the department in terms of measurable results
uses certain administrative procedures to control the progress of work
plans follow-up actions for finished work
evaluates progress from different points of view such as costs, pace, quality and effort
is able to assess when to step in if the work is stagnant

breaks down change processes into small steps and indicates when progress needs to be checked
monitors the essentials of the actual progress without losing sight of relevant details
channels and directs information about the progress from various sources; makes sure (higher) management receives the accurate information
plans individual progress interviews with the key stakeholders whose decisions might influence how the change processes will go.
is alert to signals from the organization regarding the work progress and discusses them with key staff involved

Controlling progress can be easily developed if the candidate has a more than average score (7,8,9) on the drives Order & structure and Purposiveness.

How do your employees inform you with regards to the progress of their work?
How do you know exactly what your employees are doing? How do you evaluate the quality of their work? Could you give a few concrete examples? Could you give examples of the kind of your employees’ work that you do check?
Could you give examples of the kind of your employees’ work that you do not check?
What deadline did you have to meet recently? How did you manage to do so?

Check the quality of your employees’ work at random.
Define objective criteria with which you can check the quality of your employees’ work.
Address your employees regarding their responsibilities. Be clear which aspects of their work you check.
Make clear agreements with your employees about the nature and frequency of your progress checks.
Be alert to potential problems and try to avoid or limit them by acting quickly.

Ensure that your candidate keeps promises he makes and finishes a job once begun, without leaving loose ends. Evaluate it after every assignment or project.
Practise defining goals in a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) way with your candidate.
Ensure your candidate sets his own goals which he will practise to attain. Ask for feedback which goals are attained and which are not. What are the reasons for (lack of) success?
Ask your candidate to write down motives that help attaining a certain goal and motives that get in the way. Encourage him to find a way to deal with hindering motives constructively.
Ask the candidate to reflect on a situation in which he controlled progress well and one in which he could do better in that respect. What were the differences in context? Think about people, tasks, resistance, interests, time factors, et cetera. What does the candidate learn from these situations?
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