Horizon Point Consulting

Author: Taylor Simmons

  • Moving Beyond Annual Reviews: Continuous Feedback in Action

    Moving Beyond Annual Reviews: Continuous Feedback in Action

    Years ago, I worked for a company that handled performance reviews in the typical, traditional way. Once a year, I sat down with my manager, heard some positive feedback about the work I had done, and received a small raise—just above cost of living.

    The problem? Pretty much everyone received the same thing, including the person who never seemed to get the job done.

    Effective? Not really.
    Encouraging? Not especially.
    Helpful to the employee who was struggling? Definitely not.

    There Has to Be a Better Way

    So, what is a more effective way to recognize, encourage, develop, and—when necessary—redirect your people?

    At Horizon Point, we believe performance management works best when it isn’t treated as a once-a-year event. It should be an ongoing conversation.

    That starts with some simple but important practices:

    • Set clear expectations from the beginning. A good job description and clarity around responsibilities give employees a strong starting point.
    • Give feedback regularly. Don’t save the good—or the difficult—for an annual review. Timely feedback gives employees the opportunity to learn, adjust, and grow.
    • Talk about goals. Make space for conversations about where employees want to go and how their goals connect with the needs of the organization.
    • Coach, don’t just evaluate. Ask questions, listen, and help employees think through challenges and opportunities rather than simply telling them what to do.
    • Make development ongoing. Growth shouldn’t happen only when someone is struggling or ready for a promotion. It should be part of the employee experience.

    Put It Into Practice

    We’ve explored several of these ideas in previous Horizon Point posts. If you’re looking for practical ways to improve the conversations you’re having with employees, these are good places to start:

    Lead Better: The Power of Values in Performance Management
    Performance management isn’t only about goals and metrics. This post explores how values, expectations, feedback, coaching, and accountability work together. Two tools worth adding to your coaching toolbox are the SBI Model for feedback and the GROW framework for coaching conversations.

    4 Ways to Get Unstuck with Professional Development
    Development doesn’t always require another class or formal training program. Sometimes it begins with a better conversation. One tool we enjoy using is the One-on-Ones Box from Unstuck Box, which provides prompts that can help make those conversations more intentional.

    Building Career Paths That Keep Your Best People
    Career conversations shouldn’t end after the interview. Leaders can continue asking employees about their goals, interests, strengths, and next steps—and look for places where those aspirations intersect with organizational needs. Our Leaders as Career Agents (LACA) approach provides a structure for doing just that.

    The Goal Isn’t a Better Annual Review

    It’s a better relationship between leaders and employees.

    Clear expectations. Regular feedback. Honest conversations. Meaningful development. Accountability when it’s needed. And an understanding of where the employee wants to go next.

    When those things are happening throughout the year, the annual review becomes less of an event—and more of a continuation of conversations that are already taking place.

    Three Books for Better Conversations

    Want to strengthen those conversations even more? These are three resources we come back to often:

    The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier — A practical guide to asking better questions so leaders can coach employees instead of immediately jumping in with answers.

    Radical Candor by Kim Scott — A useful framework for combining genuine care for people with clear, direct feedback about performance.

    Crucial Conversations — Practical tools for navigating the difficult, high-stakes conversations that are an inevitable part of leading and developing people.

    The common thread? Better performance management isn’t really about the review form. It’s about equipping leaders to have better conversations—consistently, clearly, and with the development of both the employee and the organization in mind.

  • How Organizations Can Support Sustainable Performance

    How Organizations Can Support Sustainable Performance

    High performance matters. Sustainable performance matters more.

    Organizations need results, but those results shouldn’t depend on constant urgency, overwork, or a few high performers carrying the load.

    Sustainable performance is about creating an environment where people can do good work, continue to grow, and contribute over time. It combines clear expectations with strong leadership, meaningful development, and workplace practices that recognize people as more than simply a measure of productivity.

    At Horizon Point, this connects closely to one of our core values: People First. Putting people first doesn’t mean lowering expectations. It means recognizing that long-term organizational performance and the employee experience are closely connected.

    Here are 3 Ways to Support Sustainable Performance:

    1. Give People Clarity

    Employees need to know what matters most.

    Clear priorities, realistic expectations, good communication, and an understanding of how individual work connects to larger organizational goals can reduce unnecessary friction and help people focus their energy where it has the greatest impact.

    Leaders can regularly ask: Are we making it clear what success looks like—and what matters most right now?

    2. Develop Leaders Who Develop Others

    Managers have a significant influence on the everyday employee experience. Sustainable performance requires leaders who can do more than assign work and track results.

    Strong leaders communicate expectations, provide feedback, recognize contributions, coach through challenges, and help employees continue developing.

    This is especially important as organizations promote high performers into leadership roles. Technical expertise may earn someone a promotion, but leading people requires a different set of skills.

    For more on this, see The Leaders You Need Are Already Here and Horizon Point’s From Manager to Coach: Coaching Leadership That Builds Teams.

    3. Make Growth Part of the Work

    Development doesn’t always require a formal training program.

    Career conversations, mentoring, cross-training, stretch assignments, job shadowing, assessments, and opportunities to take on new responsibilities can help employees build skills while also strengthening organizational capacity.

    Recognition matters, too. When people know their contributions are seen and valued, it can strengthen connection and engagement. Horizon Point’s Recognition Is Not a Perk—It’s a Retention Strategy offers additional perspective on the relationship between recognition and retention.

    Here are a Few Helpful External Resources:

    Gallup Workplace — research and insights on employee engagement, managers, workplace culture, and performance.

    SHRM — practical tools and resources related to talent management, employee experience, leadership, retention, and workplace practices.

    The Energy Project — resources focused on energy, resilience, and sustainable performance at work.

    Start Small: Supporting sustainable performance doesn’t require launching another major initiative.

    Start with three questions:

    Do our people know what matters most?
    Are our leaders equipped to support and develop their people?
    Are we creating opportunities for people to learn, grow, and contribute?

    The answers can point to where small changes could have a meaningful impact.

    Sustainable performance isn’t about asking people to continually do more. It’s about creating the conditions that help people consistently do their best work—and continue growing along the way.

  • Building Career Paths That Keep Your Best People

    Building Career Paths That Keep Your Best People

    During an employment interview, the question, “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” is almost always asked. It’s a great question—and an important starting point for building career paths for employee retention—but too often, it’s treated as a one-time conversation instead of an ongoing commitment.

    What would change if organizations didn’t just ask that question—but continued to revisit it after the employee is onboarded? That shift alone can make a significant impact on employee retention. Because the reality is this: employees want to know they have a future—and they want to know someone is invested in helping them get there.

    At Horizon Point, one of our favorite tools to use for this is our Leaders As Career Agents Form.

    Don’t Let the Conversation Stop After Day One

    The hiring process is full of meaningful dialogue about goals, growth, and potential. But once an employee starts, those conversations often fade.

    When that happens, employees are left to figure out their career path on their own.

    Instead, organizations should:

    • Revisit career goals early and often
    • Connect initial aspirations to real opportunities
    • Keep development conversations active—not annual

    When employees see that their long-term goals still matter after they’re hired, engagement increases—and so does retention.

    Make Career Paths Visible and Flexible

    Career paths shouldn’t be rigid ladders—they should be dynamic and adaptable.

    Employees need to see:

    • Multiple ways to grow (not just promotions)
    • Clear skill-building opportunities
    • Real examples of internal movement

    Revisit the “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” question regularly. Goals change, and career paths should adjust accordingly. And, check out 4 Ways to Get Unstuck with Professional Development for more ideas from HPC.

    Here’s an example:

    Maria joined a manufacturing company as a process engineer and shared her goal of leading improvement initiatives. Her leader revisited that goal after onboarding, mapped a clear path, and provided mentorship, project ownership, and regular check-ins. Within two years, Maria was leading key initiatives—and stayed—because she could see her future and felt supported in getting there.

    The Bottom Line

    Building career paths isn’t just about development—it’s about employee retention.

    When organizations:

    • Continue the career conversation beyond the interview
    • Equip leaders to act as career agents
    • Align employee growth with business goals

    They don’t just develop their people—they keep their best people.

  • When to Start, Stop, or Stay: Navigating Your Next Right Thing

    When to Start, Stop, or Stay: Navigating Your Next Right Thing

    A few years ago, Mary Ila shared an insight that continues to resonate: “The next activity you need to do with your leaders? Ask: What needs to start, stop, or stay?”

    It is a simple yet powerful framework. We often apply it to organizations and teams, but not always to ourselves. Today, I want to circle back and reflect on how we can apply that lens personally.

    When do we know it is time to start something new, stop something we have been doing for a while, or make a tough call about whether to stay put or leap into something entirely different?

    A Personal Reflection

    Several years ago, I was approached to do some contract work supporting individuals in transition, both logistically and in their careers. It was meaningful, energizing work. It did not interfere with my role at HPC, and it even enhanced it. The stories, challenges, and lessons I gathered from those contract clients often made their way into the training sessions I facilitated. It was truly a win-win.

    Fast forward seven years. I still enjoyed the work, but it had started consuming more of my weekends. Meanwhile, my responsibilities at HPC had expanded, as had my salary. I was also receiving more and more local referrals for resume writing, outside the scope of my contract work.

    I wrestled with the decision to stop for nearly a year. The work was fulfilling, but it no longer aligned with the season of life I was in. When I finally chose to step away, it felt bittersweet, but ultimately, it was the right move. As Greg McKeown says in Essentialism, “You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.” That reminder helped me focus on what truly mattered.

    How to Decide What to Start, Stop, or Stay With

    My process for making this decision aligned closely with a favorite book I often recommend: The Next Right Thing by Emily P. Freeman (find it on our Bookshelf). It offers gentle wisdom for navigating uncertain seasons. One of her guiding questions, “What is the next right thing in love?” became a compass for my own reflection.

    Here is what helped me find clarity:

    1. Make a Pros and Cons List
      It is classic for a reason. Getting your thoughts down on paper brings objectivity to an emotional decision.

    2. Talk to Mentors and Trusted Advisors
      Do not go it alone. I leaned on people who know me well, including Mary Ila, our CEO, and my husband. Their honest feedback helped me see the bigger picture.

    “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi

    But sometimes, you also have to protect the energy that allows you to serve others sustainably.

    1. Ask the Hard Questions

    • If I start something new, what will I have to stop?

    • What is currently working that I need to let stay?

    • What is no longer aligned, even if it is still “good”?

    These questions brought clarity and gave me the courage to choose what served me best personally and professionally.

    For Leaders: Are You Supporting Your Team’s “Next Right Thing”?

    If you are in leadership, consider how you are helping your team members navigate their own Start, Stop, Stay questions. (If you have not read our piece on Should I Let My Employees Have Side Gigs?, it is worth a look.)

    We love helping teams explore this framework in real time through retreats and training. There is power in making space to pause and reflect, individually and together. How can we support your organization?

  • Back to School: Assessments are Beneficial for Each Phase of Life

    Back to School: Assessments are Beneficial for Each Phase of Life

    It’s that time again, back to school, back to campus, back to the busyness of fall! As we move to a new season of the year, many of us are also moving to a new phase of life. Assessments can be beneficial at all stages. Here are a few we recommend.

    Beginning Middle School: 

    Now’s the time for exploration! Middle schoolers typically have access to assessments at school that allows for exploration. Here are a couple of others we recommend:

    What’s Your Learning Style?

    Your Free Career Test

    Career Spotlight videos on YouTube are also great for this age group!

    Beginning High School/Starting College:

    Any Holland-based assessment is ideal for this stage. Holland assessments are interest-based & tie into personality also. At Horizon Point, we utilize the STRONG Interest Inventory. Another assessment we recommend (that is free) is My Next Move. It is a short assessment & a great starting point for finding out about interests and potential career fields.

    Informational interviews and/or job shadows are also great for this stage!

    Mid-Career Change:

    16 Personalities – This assessment is also free & provides your MBTI (personality type). I don’t typically recommend personality assessments for high schoolers since personality can change a bit as we move into adulthood. This assessment offers insight into personality, ideal work environments & more.

    Did you know we offer assessments & training packages at Horizon Point? Contact us today to learn more  – info@horizonpointconsulting.com or tbs@horizonpointconsulting.com.