Research insights · Feedback & growth
A place to begin
Harkin and colleagues synthesized 138 studies comparing interventions promoting progress monitoring with control conditions. They found overall increases in monitoring frequency and goal attainment, and examined differences involving recording and reporting.
Decide what you want the review to reveal
Before designing a record, describe this week’s experiment and one thing you are curious about. You might want to notice what you feel while waiting or which judgment a colleague made independently. The question can determine what is worth recording.
If there are too many signals, choose two. Alongside a frequency, note the situation and support that made a choice possible. A small amount of usable information can give the next conversation a more concrete place to begin.
Record a scene before giving yourself a score
Translate “I did badly again” into something observable. What were you asked, and what did you answer? Was there even a brief moment of a different choice? Separate what you know about the other person’s response from what you imagine.
If writing becomes a way to criticize yourself, reconsider the format. A few words about situation, choice and learning may feel more useful than polished sentences. The aim is to understand an experience, rather than produce a good-looking reflection document.
What could three minutes after an experiment hold?
You might note what happened, what surprised you, what you learned about yourself or the colleague, and what you could try next. There is no requirement to answer every question. Choose the part that feels most meaningful now.
If you missed the planned recording time, return to one scene you remember. Rather than creating homework to fill every gap, find a time and format you can use. Let the leader choose a rhythm that fits the working week.
Choose what to share and with whom
A coaching conversation can explore feelings and hesitation, while HR reporting can focus on goals, progress, practice and support agreed in advance. Deciding what to write and deciding who can see it are different choices that deserve explicit boundaries.
When noting a colleague’s response, avoid unnecessary personal details or a verdict about their character. Use the note to identify what you understood and what you still need to ask, rather than making the record an assessment of the other person.
Ask what the evidence invites you to adjust
Do not stop at whether a count increased or decreased. Explore when a different choice became possible. Was the experiment too large, a criterion unclear or a resource missing? The pattern can help you choose a smaller or better-supported attempt.
HR can discuss the agreed behavior and needed support without grading how perfectly every record was submitted. This week, bring one short note to a conversation and choose something to retain and something to adjust. Let the record serve that choice.
Connecting the research with coaching
A coaching application is to begin with what the leader wants to learn from an experiment, rather than demand more documentation. A brief record can make an experience available for the next reflective conversation.
What to keep in view
These experiments span different goal domains and do not directly validate a leadership journal or a three-minute record. Findings about reporting do not justify making private coaching notes public.
Original research and source
Benjamin Harkin, Thomas L. Webb, Betty P. I. Chang, Andrew Prestwich, Mark Conner, Ian Kellar, Yael Benn & Paschal Sheeran (2016). Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence.
Read the primary research record ↗Questions about this topic
Does progress monitoring help goal attainment?
The meta-analysis reported an overall benefit, without establishing a guaranteed effect for a particular leadership-recording method.
Do I need a detailed daily journal?
Choose a short format relevant to what you want to learn from the experiment and use it in the next reflection.
Must all records be shared with HR?
No. Agree boundaries in advance and distinguish personal reflection from the goals, progress and support information to be shared.