How to Deliver Performance Feedback that Inspires Action

In 60 minutes learn 12 tips to change your whole perspective on delivering performance feedback, AND coach your employees to take action

   Watch promo   Enroll in course.

In this practical session you will learn tips to engage with others so that you really hear what they are saying and consequently set the stage for them to hear you. Participants often tell me these skills are applicable no matter what their role, at work and in life.

This online, self-paced course is perfect for you if you want to:

  • Transform performance feedback that might be taken as negative to something your employee wants to act on.
  • Feel more confident so you can handle how your employee responds to feedback.
  • Spend more time doing your job, and less time trying to get through to an employee.

(Be sure to check out the promotional video if you haven't already. See the button beside the "enroll" button above. It will give you a good idea of what the course is like. In fact, it's the first 90 seconds of the course!)

It your employee doesn't respond, shuts down, or tells you what you want to hear, but doesn't change, you CAN change the conversation.

You'll hear me use the phrase "stop talking" because many times when we think we aren't being heard, it's tempting to say it again or talk louder. Sometimes when we are delivering a difficult message, we go on and on because we're nervous. There are also times when we just want to shut down.

This course includes 12 tips to remove all these concerns, and give you tactics to change your habits and be effective.

See the list of pre-recorded lessons below.


First really usable information.

"I did a lot of research. I feel like your tips and advice are the first really usable information in working with others I can use and actually put into practice." – Julie Kirk, ILEAD program participant

I changed the way I handled the situation completely.

“I was recently in a potentially heated meeting. I chose to remain silent and just ask simple questions. After the meeting I reviewed my notes and realized if I had reacted during the meeting, it would have escalated for both parties. I wouldn't have realized some important points until after things cooled down.

Later we were able to reconvene and set a solid plan in action that we both were in agreement with! Applying Mary's material was essential in preparing me to make this interaction successful."

– Carl Shaw, Delaware Division of Libraries, Inspiration Space

Looking forward to putting these tips to work.

"I found Mary’s stories so relatable, memorable, and applicable to my everyday work as an HR professional. I really enjoyed this training and look forward to putting it to work."

– Alan Utley, Regional Human Resources Director, Wyndham

Class curriculum


  How to Deliver Performance Feedback that Inspires Action
Available in days
days after you enroll

Frequently asked questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.
Do I have to be a manager to benefit by this course?

Not at all. I typically present the material from the manager to employee perspective, but I've had project managers, independent contributors, parents, adult siblings, school board members (and the list goes on) in my live classes who have adapted these tips for a variety of uses.

How are you qualified to teach this course?
Good question! If you are a data person, here's are my qualifications by the numbers. I've 1) taken 200 hours of coaching skills training and earned a certification in coaching, 2) delivered hundreds of hours of coaching, tele-classes and face-to-face training on management development to hundreds of participants in a corporate environment, 3) delivered 600+ coaching hours formally, in addition to countless hours of informal activity, and 4) delivered more than 250 hours training others specifically on developing coaching skills.
Is there a way to interact with you if I have a question during the course?

Yes. If you go to http://tiny.cc/contact-mary, just submit your question and I'll do my best to give you a timely answer. If it looks like the answer you're looking for is a bit more complicated and will likely take at least 15-20 minutes and some exchange to sort it out we can book time to discuss it.

Get started now! (click in box for more details.)



Your instructor:


Mary Schaefer
Mary Schaefer

Where I came from:

My first leadership experience was "managing" a team of fellow teens, picking melons and tomatoes on my family farm. Fast forward… in my corporate career I started out as a computer programmer. Computers were so new in the 80's and I really liked helping people feel confident as quickly as possible, when they were worried about looking stupid or breaking the machine.

I love helping people at work to get along better, enjoy their work more, develop, succeed and thrive. I decided the best place to help people this way was to go into Human Resources. Getting my Master's in HR helped me change direction, and now I was in a better position to be in-the-know about how things really work in an organization.

Even before I got my first HR assignment I found people came to me for help with improving their chances of getting promoted, discussing their performance discussions, posting for new assignments, and maneuvering office politics and difficult conversations. I rounded off my 20-year corporate career as an HR Manager serving a constituency of over 550 employees. I keep up with my former cohorts, and of course my clients help me keep my coaching and training grounded in the reality of the workplace.

Where I am and where “we" are going:

I work with managers, employees and organizations to create work cultures where everyone thrives. My big deal is about working with what makes us human, at work, and for the hundreds of people I've coached or trained, and for you, this is what I want for you.

I work with you as a manager of people via training and one-on-one coaching to help you learn the skills to handle those conversations you need to have, but tend to avoid. I help you build teams who are resourceful and self-starters. I give you materials and tools to improve your day-to-day conversations with employees so that everyone's regularly all on the same page, and pulling their own weight.

I work with you as an employee to grow your own empowerment so that it's clear you are:

- Willing to do what it take to earn more responsibility, and advance.

- Truly taking charge of your career.

- Interested in doing what's best for you, your boss and the organization.

Through training, coaching and other tools I help you ensure that you and your boss are on the same page about your what's expected of you

As the principal of my own business, I often call on my expertise in empowerment and manager/employee interactions. I coach, train and consult on talent development, performance management and change management too. My clients include Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, non-profits and government agencies and a number of individuals who come to me of their own accord. Ultimately what I want for the managers, employees and organizations I work with is a level of empowerment I describe like this:

"You are willing to expect a lot from others and yourself. You gravitate toward growth and progress, through development and courage, rather than resign yourself to the same old thing. You hold a positive vision for what human beings are capable of."