From Performance Evaluation to Performance Cultivation: Coaching 2.0

Late October, I drove three beautiful hours to the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia where I spent two days with a conservation-focused client whose distributed team gathered in person for the first time in months. Being surrounded by autumn's splendor as I navigated through mountains, and later walked the grounds of the center, the path was clear for what I'd come to share. What unfolded was a masterclass in how organizations can transform performance management from a dreaded administrative task into a meaningful opportunity for growth.

Building Trust Before Building Systems

The evening prior to the training we shared dinner and engaged in trivia—not because it was "fun team building," but because real organizational change requires relational trust. Before introducing a new performance framework, I needed to witness the community they'd built across the country and understand the culture I was entering. Facilitation isn't a performance; it's a practice that requires presence.

The Reframe: From Evaluation to Coaching

Wednesday morning, we gathered to introduce their new performance system. But I started with this truth:

"You have to show up tomorrow anyway."

Whether they stayed or moved to another job, they'd still wake up and go to work somewhere. The real question was about choice: Do you want to show up disconnected from organizational priorities, with no direction or sense of achievement? Or do you want to try something different?

We introduced the GROW model—a coaching framework by Sir John Whitmore best described in his book Coaching for Performance which stands for Goal, Reality, Options,

Will. That final W—Will—is where transformation lives. Do you choose to show up intentionally?

For an organization that had never had an intentional approach to performance evaluation, this was radical. We weren't implementing "performance evaluation." We were introducing coaching for performance.

The Connection: Growing Plants, Growing People

Here's where it became beautiful. This organization's mission centers conservation—their work is literally tied to the earth. So I asked: How do you grow a plant?

Water. Soil. Fungi. Sunlight. Nurturing.

"Now, how do we use these same principles to grow ourselves? To grow our teams? To grow this organization?"

Suddenly, performance management wasn't abstract HR jargon. It was an extension of the work they already knew how to do. It connected their personal and professional selves to the mission they'd chosen.

The Practice: Making It Real

We practiced. Three breakout exercises. Team sharing. Real scenarios. Real coaching conversations. By the end, this wasn't just a new system—it was a new way of seeing their work and each other.

The Lesson

Performance management fails when it's treated as compliance. It thrives when it's treated as cultivation. What made this work:

• We built trust first. Community before content.

• We connected to the mission. The framework reflected their values, not generic templates.

• We practiced together. Learning is embodied, not theoretical.

• We offered a choice. Adults need autonomy, even in structured systems.

Your Turn: What Are You Growing?

If your organization is ready to move beyond check-the-box evaluations and create a performance culture that actually develops people, connects them to purpose, and builds sustainable accountability—let's talk.

Schedule a discovery call with an AllProfit HR People, Culture and Workplace Empowerment Partner today to explore Performance & Accountability Systems services. We'll guide you to design a clear, fair, and values-aligned performance management system that your team will actually want to engage with. Because when you coach for performance instead of just evaluating it, everyone grows.

Let's cultivate something better together.