Monica* is a senior leader and thoughtful manager at a large organization. She has so much on her plate, it’s hard to remember what happened this morning, let alone last week. She not only uses OnLoop because it saves her time, but also because it helps her develop her team more efficiently. She can swiftly Capture key details about her team’s day-to-day tasks and assign specific tags from our signature tag framework. This allows her to quickly identify her team’s superpowers and blind spots and supercharge their growth. Find out how Monica gets the most value from OnLoop with minimum effort, and learn how you can do the same for your team.
Monica uses OnLoop to Capture everything her direct reports do that impress or amaze her through Celebrate Captures. Whether it’s taking initiative with a project, anticipating her needs, or simply doing something to make her day easier — Monica Captures and tags it. The more tags she uses, the easier it is for her to identify her team’s strengths and measure their progress — both as individuals and as a team. Equally important, she shares all her Celebrate Captures with her direct reports, encouraging them to do the same. Seeing her reports react to her Captures is always a highlight.
When things don’t go exactly as planned, Monica reaches for OnLoop to log and tag Improve Captures. Knowing the situation has been recorded somewhere releases that initial anxiety and stress, allowing Monica to reclaim her focus and carry on with her tasks. She does not share Improve Captures in the moment.
Studies show that we learn most through being told what we do right rather than what we do wrong (which is also important in the right contexts). A 5:1 ratio of delivering positive to negative feedback is thought to be ideal. Positive reinforcement and a simple shoutout are quick ways to invest in your team without spending a dime. Odds are, your ensuing constructive feedback will be better received as a result.
Every Friday, Monica blocks 15 minutes in her calendar for a “Capture Storm,” when she processes and reflects on her team’s key moments over the past week. This is when she makes more of her Improve Captures. She thinks back on times her directs did things that made her day harder, or played into bad habits. At its simplest, she Captures specific moments that could make her directs even better.
Establishing this as a weekly ritual means she doesn’t let too much time pass, minimizing recency bias. She is also careful to include team members who may have gone unnoticed, making sure she develops everyone equally. Monica’s pro tip: keep specific details at the heart of these reflections — they are often the difference between empty feedback and actionable guidance.
As her team’s top Improve tags surface, Monica can then help her team grow by recommending Learn Content. She shares articles, podcasts or videos that, based on the tags she’s Captured, she knows will be helpful and valuable to her directs. She also takes this time to review her own Learn recommendations, unlocked thanks to Captures she’s made on herself.
Monica asks her directs to Capture their own Goals and share them with her via OnLoop. This way, she gets a bird’s eye view of her team’s collective Goals, and can tailor her Captures accordingly. Her directs feel supported and encouraged to progress both individually and as a team — showcasing the power of Collaborative Team Development (CTD).
Finally, conversation is the number one tool Monica has to connect with her team, especially in a time of remote work. While she can’t be in the same room to read reactions or tone, clarity is key when giving or receiving feedback. As her Captures build, she’s equipped to have the difficult conversations she needs to have. She’s as specific as possible (having made good Captures really helps), but she’s kind (remember the 5:1 ratio?). Once she and her directs have talked through improvement areas, she shares her Improve Captures with them to reinforce their development discussions. Those shared Improves compound in her directs’ apps, giving them more clarity around where they can continue to grow.
Monica feels like a great manager, helping her team develop smart, differentiating habits while relieving her own stress and biases, and getting valuable time back. Monica’s team members feel noticed, valued, and in control of their growth.
Take a page out of Monica’s book and see how OnLoop can help you become a thoughtful, influential and time-efficient leader in your organization.
*Note: While Monica herself is not a real person, she embodies the best of our existing OnLoop power users and as such, serves as a great role model to help you make the most of our app.