Monitoring Employee Progress

Cathie Leimbach • February 27, 2024

Once you have shared expectations with a team member, it is important that you monitor their progress, compare their work with your expectations, and provide appropriate feedback.


Depending on the individual’s development level and the nature of the task, the frequency and method of monitoring progress varies. During the initial stages of learning a task monitoring may take place every 5 minutes or hourly and move to daily.  A highly skilled person may be asked to provide their manager with weekly or monthly progress reports.


Before comparing an employee’s results or progress-to-date with your expectations, it is important to review the written description of your expectations. We often don’t tell others or put in writing exactly what we were thinking when we assigned the task. If the individual’s progress is not in line with the written expectations you provided, then providing guidance for them to make changes is appropriate. However, if the work they are doing is in line with written expectations but not in line with what you really wanted, it is important that you acknowledge having left out key elements of your written expectations and revise them promptly.


The third part of monitoring employee progress is to communicate successes and areas for improvement. Provide specific positive feedback on parts of the task your team member is doing well. Communicate areas for improvement in a calm manner. Discuss how they can improve their work towards meeting your expectations.



Your role as a leader is to support employees for success. This requires that you monitor their progress, compare progress to stated expectations, and provide both positive feedback and corrective action that helps them become high performers. 

What If Your Biggest Performance Problem Isn’t What You Think?

By Cathie Leimbach • May 5, 2026
What If Your Biggest Performance Problem Isn’t What You Think? When CEOs think about risk, they often focus on: Market shifts Operational issues Financial exposure But one of the biggest performance problems is far less visible: Low trust inside the organization. Nearly 30% of employees say they don’t receive clear, honest, or consistent communication from leadership. Over time, that creates doubt—about expectations, personal performance, and priorities. Employees begin to feel that their job is at risk because they aren’t getting any positive feedback. They question whether they have the tools, training, and support needed to do their jobs well. When they only hear about changes at work through the rumor mill, they feel information is being held back. And when that happens: Alignment drops Speed slows Assumptions increase Execution fractures “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” — Stephen R. Covey Trust isn’t soft. It’s a leading indicator of performance. When trust is strong: Decisions move faster Teams align quicker Change sticks When trust is weak: Everything takes longer Everything costs more And here’s the reality : Trust-building conversations are not a common leadership strength today. Yet leaders like Ken Blanchard, Stephen M.R. Covey, and David Horsager all point to the same conclusion—these are not optional skills. They are required for performance in today’s environment. Which means trust gaps are rarely about effort. They’re about conversation skills. A question to consider: Where might low-trust leadership behaviors—not lack of effort—be quietly slowing your organization down? Join Cathie Leimbach and a small group of leaders for a 45-minute Leadership Conversation – Workforce Challenges on Tuesday, May 12 at 3:00 PM ET. If trust is impacting speed, alignment , or execution in your organization, this conversation is for you. Register here Limited to a small group.

The Culture Problem Most Leaders Don’t See—Until It Shows Up in Results

By Cathie Leimbach • April 28, 2026
Most CEOs don’t wake up worrying about culture. They’re focused on growth, margins, execution. But culture quietly determines all three. Because when people feel disconnected, something subtle happens: Execution slows Ownership drops Problems surface later—and cost more Nearly a third of employees describe their workplace as isolated or impersonal. That’s not just a morale issue. That’s an execution risk . And employees don’t “love” a company because of perks. They stay committed when they feel valued. When that’s missing: Effort becomes transactional Communication becomes minimal Discretionary effort disappears The data is clear—when employees feel valued: Attendance improves Conflict decreases Productivity rises This is where many organizations misfire. They try to fix culture with initiatives. But culture is shaped in daily leadership interactions —not programs. And most leaders haven’t been trained to have regular meaningful conversations. They have been promoted to people leadership positions yet not prepared for their new roles. When untrained leaders don’t get topnotch results, it’s not due to a gap in effort or potential. It’s due to a current gap in ability. What can you do about it? Where might your workplace culture be quietly affecting execution—even if performance still “looks okay”? 👉 Join our next 45-minute Leadership Conversation— Workforce Challenges . We’ll explore how culture impacts performance—and what leaders can actually do about it.