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Questionnaire Items Measuring Establishing Focus/Direction

Definition: Establishing Focus/Direction is the ability to align people, plans, and resources toward meaningful goals by setting clear expectations, creating structure, and maintaining strategic clarity. It involves setting clear goals that connect individual efforts to organizational priorities, and applying situational awareness to assess risks, opportunities, and team dynamics. Managers demonstrate this competency by designing procedures, building schedules, guiding performance, and prioritizing tasks and resources to keep teams focused and productive. Success in this area also requires flexibility, self-discipline, and a commitment to monitoring progress, preparing resources, and sustaining attention through changing conditions.
Establishing Focus/Direction helps employees to achieve goals efficiently. It enables strategies, schedules, and plans. It prioritizes tasks and sets standards of performance. The main components of this competency include:When employees are given focus and direction, they become more confident in their roles, knowing exactly what is expected of them and how to achieve it. This clarity helps them prioritize tasks, concentrate on meaningful work, and avoid unnecessary distractions. With structured plans and guidance, they feel supported and empowered to take initiative, boosting their productivity and morale. Additionally, clear standards of performance provide opportunities for growth and recognition, fostering a sense of accomplishment and commitment to the organization.

Leadership Skills
Leadership
Management
Establishing Focus/Direction
Managing Performance
Supervisory Skills
Persuasion and Influence
Project Management
Delegation
Performance
Questionnaires Measuring Establishing Focus/Direction:
Survey 1 (4-point scale; Competency Comments)
Survey 2 (4-point scale; Competency Comments)
Survey 3 (5-point scale; Competency Comments)
Survey 4 (5-point scale; radio buttons)
Survey 5 (4-point scale; words)
Survey 6 (4-point scale; words)
Survey 7 (5-point scale; competency comments; N/A)
Survey 8 (3-point scale; Agree/Disagree words; N/A)
Survey 9 (3-point scale; Strength/Development; N/A)
Survey 10 (Comment boxes only)
Survey 11 (Single rating per competency)
Survey 12 (Slide-bar scale)
Survey 13 (4-point scale; numbers; floating anchors)
Survey 14 (4-point scale; N/A)

360-Degree Feedback Questionnaire Items

When employees have autonomy, they feel trusted and motivated to contribute their best. Allowing flexibility in work hours or remote work arrangements empowers employees to manage their time effectively. This flexibility acknowledges their personal needs and fosters a healthy work-life balance. Empowerment provides growth opportunities for employees and encourages employees to share their ideas, perspectives, and solutions. This creates an environment where they can learn, develop, and take on new challenges. Empowerment involves tailoring responsibilities to match employees' skill levels, allowing them to excel and grow.



Setting Clear Goals
Setting Clear Goals focuses on defining the destination--what success looks like, how it's measured, and how each person's work contributes to the broader mission. It involves articulating specific, measurable objectives for individuals, teams, and departments, and aligning those goals with organizational priorities. This dimension emphasizes clarity, alignment, and shared purpose, ensuring that employees understand not just what they're doing, but why it matters. It's about establishing direction through well-structured goals, deliverables, and expectations that guide effort, focus energy, and reinforce strategic intent.


Situational Awareness
Situational Awareness is about understanding the terrain--recognizing the internal and external factors that influence performance, morale, and strategic positioning. It involves staying attuned to employee needs, team dynamics, environmental shifts, and organizational conditions that may affect progress. This dimension emphasizes responsiveness, empathy, and adaptability, ensuring that managers are not just setting goals but continuously monitoring the context in which those goals are pursued. It's about maintaining a real-time understanding of challenges, opportunities, and individual capacities so that direction remains relevant and achievable.


Procedures and Directions
Procedures and Directions emphasizes the operational structure and clarity needed to execute work consistently and efficiently. It involves assigning responsibilities, designing workflows, and establishing standard operating procedures that guide daily actions. This dimension is about translating strategic goals into concrete, repeatable steps--ensuring that employees know what to do, how to do it, and who is accountable. It reflects a manager's ability to provide clear instructions, maintain regulatory compliance, and organize work through defined roles, production assignments, and task sequencing. The focus is on executional clarity and procedural consistency.


Planning and Strategy
Planning and Strategy centers on foresight, adaptability, and the broader roadmap for achieving goals. It involves anticipating risks, developing contingency plans, and selecting the most effective approaches to navigate complexity. This dimension reflects a manager's ability to think ahead, resolve roadblocks, and align team efforts with long-term objectives. While Procedures and Directions provide the "how," Planning and Strategy defines the "why" and "what if"--expanding focus beyond immediate tasks to strategic positioning, resource optimization, and resilience. It's about crafting a thoughtful path forward and preparing the team to succeed under changing conditions.


Scheduling
Scheduling focuses on the structured organization of time and tasks to ensure consistent progress and clarity. It involves creating timelines, shift patterns, and production schedules that reflect urgency, strategic goals, and individual availability. Managers who excel in scheduling establish key milestones, allocate time for high-priority items, and help employees set deadlines that maintain momentum. This dimension is about building a framework that keeps the team on track--reducing ambiguity, coordinating efforts, and ensuring that work unfolds in a timely and predictable manner.


Creates Structure
Creates Structure emphasizes designing frameworks and breaking down goals into manageable components to facilitate long-term success. It focuses on organizing work into smaller milestones, developing systems that drive the organization toward strategic objectives, and establishing structured processes that enhance focus and direction. This dimension ensures that the broader vision is translated into actionable steps, keeping teams aligned and goal-oriented.


Prioritizes Tasks and Resources
Prioritizes Tasks and Resources emphasizes decision-making and focus--determining which tasks, goals, or resource allocations will have the greatest impact. It involves guiding employees to concentrate on what matters most, deferring lower-value activities, and aligning efforts with strategic outcomes. Managers who prioritize effectively help teams stay focused, say "no" to distractions, and reinforce the connection between daily work and broader organizational goals. Prioritizing determines what should happen first and why--ensuring that energy and resources are directed toward the most meaningful results.


Guides
Guides highlights actively leading and supporting employees in their tasks to maintain progress and alignment with broader goals. It involves mentorship, redirection when needed, and helping team members stay on track through guidance and collaboration. This dimension emphasizes interpersonal engagement--leading by example, assisting new employees, and fostering teamwork to achieve objectives.


Standards of Performance
Standards of Performance focuses on defining expectations and benchmarks for success. This dimension involves setting clear performance indicators (KPIs), establishing quality criteria, and articulating the requirements for satisfactory job performance. It ensures that employees and teams understand the level of performance expected of them before work begins, providing a foundation for accountability and goal-setting.


Focuses Attention
Focuses Attention emphasizes maintaining direction and keeping teams engaged in their objectives. This dimension centers on inspiring and motivating employees to stay focused on departmental goals, ensuring the organization's vision remains a driving force. It highlights leadership in guiding teams, encouraging participation, and fostering alignment with key priorities.


Self-Discipline
Self-Discipline highlights personal resilience, emotional control, and persistence in the face of obstacles or distractions. It involves maintaining composure under pressure, staying committed to quality work despite setbacks, and filtering out unnecessary distractions. This dimension focuses on an individual's ability to remain steady, focused, and intentional in their efforts, even under difficult circumstances.


Monitoring Performance
Monitoring Performance emphasizes actively tracking, assessing, and adjusting performance based on real-time data. This dimension centers on evaluating key metrics, identifying workload imbalances, and regularly checking in to ensure employees stay on track. It incorporates performance analytics, feedback loops, and adjustments to maintain effectiveness and optimize results.


Flexibility
Flexibility within the Establishing Focus/Direction competency emphasizes a manager's ability to adapt in real time to changing conditions, team dynamics, and unforeseen challenges. It involves adjusting expectations, redistributing workloads, and refining objectives based on feedback or shifting organizational needs. Managers who demonstrate flexibility respond to personnel absences, evolving priorities, or process inefficiencies with agility and empathy--tailoring support and direction to individual strengths and circumstances. The focus is on responsiveness and resilience, ensuring that progress continues even when plans must shift, and that employees remain supported and motivated through change.


Prepares Resources
Prepares Resources focuses on the structural and logistical foundation that enables employees to perform effectively. It involves anticipating needs, securing tools, allocating budgets, and aligning resources with strategic priorities. This dimension is about ensuring readiness (whether through equipment, training, staffing, or support systems) so that employees have what they need before and during execution. It's proactive and infrastructure-oriented, emphasizing the manager's role in removing barriers, optimizing capacity, and investing in long-term capability. The emphasis is on provisioning and positioning the team for success through thoughtful planning and resource stewardship.


Commitment


Time Management

Employee Opinion Survey Items



Setting Clear Goals
Setting Clear Goals focuses on defining explicit objectives, ensuring alignment with organizational vision, and articulating measurable targets. This dimension highlights clarifying expectations, helping employees see their impact, establishing production quotas, and aligning departmental goals with broader strategic priorities. It prioritizes clarity and direction, ensuring that teams understand exactly what success looks like and how their efforts contribute to larger objectives.


Situational Awareness
Situational Awareness focuses on understanding and analyzing internal and external factors to provide employees with clarity, guidance, and strategic insights. This dimension highlights recognizing employee strengths, keeping teams informed, uncovering opportunities and threats, assessing organizational conditions, and ensuring individuals understand the significance of their work. It prioritizes perception and preparedness, ensuring leaders make informed decisions that align with team and organizational goals.


Procedures and Directions
Procedures and Directions focuses on designing and implementing standardized workflows, operational guidelines, and structured assignments to ensure clarity and efficiency. This dimension highlights setting production procedures, establishing safety regulations, creating SOPs, and delegating responsibilities to team leads or supervisors. It prioritizes consistency and structured execution, ensuring that employees follow clear directives that align with organizational success.


Planning and Strategy
Planning and Strategy emphasizes developing structured plans, anticipating obstacles, and mapping out actionable steps to ensure goals are achieved efficiently. This dimension centers on preparing task lists, resolving roadblocks, expanding focus beyond daily tasks, and creating contingency plans for potential challenges. It prioritizes foresight and execution, ensuring teams have a clear roadmap and adaptive strategies to navigate complexities.


Scheduling
Scheduling focuses on establishing deadlines, milestones, and structured timelines to keep work progressing efficiently. This dimension highlights managing shift patterns, ensuring productivity while balancing individual availability, setting production schedules, and defining key phases for project execution. It prioritizes time management and operational efficiency, ensuring that work is completed on schedule and teams remain aligned with established timelines.


Creates Structure
Creates Structure emphasizes developing frameworks, processes, and organizational models to provide long-term strategic direction. This dimension centers on defining roles and responsibilities, breaking down goals into manageable tasks, creating operational workflows, and supporting teams with structured processes that drive efficiency. It prioritizes organizational clarity and strategic alignment, ensuring that employees understand their roles and how their work contributes to broader objectives.


Prioritizes Tasks and Resources
Prioritizes Tasks and Resources emphasizes determining which tasks, projects, and goals have the most significant impact and allocating time and resources accordingly. This dimension centers on recognizing urgent tasks, ensuring teams focus on high-impact objectives, managing workload distribution, and making strategic decisions about task sequencing. It prioritizes decision-making and resource optimization, ensuring that teams concentrate their efforts on what matters most.


Guides
Guides focuses on actively leading employees through their tasks, providing mentorship, and ensuring alignment with organizational goals. This dimension highlights correcting course when individuals stray from assigned duties, offering hands-on guidance, encouraging teamwork, and ensuring new employees receive structured direction. It prioritizes leadership and mentorship, ensuring employees have a clear sense of direction as they navigate their responsibilities.


Standards of Performance
Standards of Performance focuses on defining benchmarks, expectations, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to set a clear baseline for success. This dimension highlights establishing job requirements, setting measurable quality standards, determining acceptable work output, and aligning performance expectations with organizational goals. It prioritizes clarity and consistency, ensuring employees understand what is expected and how success is measured.


Focuses Attention
Focuses Attention emphasizes maintaining employees' focus on key objectives, ensuring motivation, and reinforcing the importance of strategic priorities. This dimension centers on keeping teams aligned with larger organizational goals, inspiring employees to stay engaged, ensuring work remains productive, and encouraging perseverance under pressure. It prioritizes goal orientation and sustained engagement, ensuring employees remain concentrated on meaningful contributions.


Self-Discipline
Self-Discipline focuses on an individual's ability to maintain focus, composure, and resilience in the face of challenges, pressure, and setbacks. This dimension highlights staying on task despite obstacles, functioning effectively under stress, maintaining professional composure, and ensuring that teams stay committed to high-quality work. It prioritizes personal accountability and mental fortitude, ensuring that employees and leaders remain steadfast in their pursuit of objectives.


Monitoring Performance
Monitoring Performance emphasizes tracking ongoing progress, evaluating productivity, and making data-driven adjustments to improve efficiency. This dimension centers on reviewing workload distribution, assessing project completion rates, using analytics tools for optimization, and ensuring that employees receive necessary support to stay on course. It prioritizes continuous assessment and improvement, ensuring teams remain aligned with goals and can pivot when needed.


Flexibility
Flexibility emphasizes adjusting strategies, workflows, and objectives in response to evolving conditions to maintain efficiency and effectiveness. This dimension centers on modifying processes, refining priorities, reallocating resources, shifting tasks, and making course corrections based on feedback and unforeseen circumstances. It prioritizes adaptability and responsiveness, ensuring teams can pivot when needed while remaining focused on their objectives.


Prepares Resources
Prepares Resources emphasizes equipping employees with the necessary tools, support, and materials to complete their work successfully. This dimension centers on distributing equipment, allocating budgets, providing training, implementing financial support programs, and ensuring teams have what they need to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. It prioritizes practical readiness and resource allocation, ensuring that employees are set up for success with the right infrastructure.


Commitment


Time Management

Self-Assessment Items



Setting Clear Goals
Setting Clear Goals focuses on defining the destination--what success looks like, how it's measured, and how each person's work contributes to the broader mission. It involves articulating specific, measurable objectives for individuals, teams, and departments, and aligning those goals with organizational priorities. This dimension emphasizes clarity, alignment, and shared purpose, ensuring that employees understand not just what they're doing, but why it matters. It's about establishing direction through well-structured goals, deliverables, and expectations that guide effort, focus energy, and reinforce strategic intent.


Situational Awareness
Situational Awareness is about understanding the terrain--recognizing the internal and external factors that influence performance, morale, and strategic positioning. It involves staying attuned to employee needs, team dynamics, environmental shifts, and organizational conditions that may affect progress. This dimension emphasizes responsiveness, empathy, and adaptability, ensuring that managers are not just setting goals but continuously monitoring the context in which those goals are pursued. It's about maintaining a real-time understanding of challenges, opportunities, and individual capacities so that direction remains relevant and achievable.


Procedures and Directions
Procedures and Directions emphasizes the operational structure and clarity needed to execute work consistently and efficiently. It involves assigning responsibilities, designing workflows, and establishing standard operating procedures that guide daily actions. This dimension is about translating strategic goals into concrete, repeatable steps--ensuring that employees know what to do, how to do it, and who is accountable. It reflects a manager's ability to provide clear instructions, maintain regulatory compliance, and organize work through defined roles, production assignments, and task sequencing. The focus is on executional clarity and procedural consistency.


Planning and Strategy
Planning and Strategy centers on foresight, adaptability, and the broader roadmap for achieving goals. It involves anticipating risks, developing contingency plans, and selecting the most effective approaches to navigate complexity. This dimension reflects a manager's ability to think ahead, resolve roadblocks, and align team efforts with long-term objectives. While Procedures and Directions provide the "how," Planning and Strategy defines the "why" and "what if"--expanding focus beyond immediate tasks to strategic positioning, resource optimization, and resilience. It's about crafting a thoughtful path forward and preparing the team to succeed under changing conditions.


Scheduling
Scheduling focuses on the structured organization of time and tasks to ensure consistent progress and clarity. It involves creating timelines, shift patterns, and production schedules that reflect urgency, strategic goals, and individual availability. Managers who excel in scheduling establish key milestones, allocate time for high-priority items, and help employees set deadlines that maintain momentum. This dimension is about building a framework that keeps the team on track--reducing ambiguity, coordinating efforts, and ensuring that work unfolds in a timely and predictable manner.


Creates Structure
Creates Structure emphasizes designing frameworks and breaking down goals into manageable components to facilitate long-term success. It focuses on organizing work into smaller milestones, developing systems that drive the organization toward strategic objectives, and establishing structured processes that enhance focus and direction. This dimension ensures that the broader vision is translated into actionable steps, keeping teams aligned and goal-oriented.


Prioritizes Tasks and Resources
Prioritizes Tasks and Resources emphasizes decision-making and focus--determining which tasks, goals, or resource allocations will have the greatest impact. It involves guiding employees to concentrate on what matters most, deferring lower-value activities, and aligning efforts with strategic outcomes. Managers who prioritize effectively help teams stay focused, say "no" to distractions, and reinforce the connection between daily work and broader organizational goals. Prioritizing determines what should happen first and why--ensuring that energy and resources are directed toward the most meaningful results.


Guides
Guides highlights actively leading and supporting employees in their tasks to maintain progress and alignment with broader goals. It involves mentorship, redirection when needed, and helping team members stay on track through guidance and collaboration. This dimension emphasizes interpersonal engagement--leading by example, assisting new employees, and fostering teamwork to achieve objectives.


Standards of Performance
Standards of Performance focuses on defining expectations and benchmarks for success. This dimension involves setting clear performance indicators (KPIs), establishing quality criteria, and articulating the requirements for satisfactory job performance. It ensures that employees and teams understand the level of performance expected of them before work begins, providing a foundation for accountability and goal-setting.


Focuses Attention
Focuses Attention emphasizes maintaining direction and keeping teams engaged in their objectives. This dimension centers on inspiring and motivating employees to stay focused on departmental goals, ensuring the organization's vision remains a driving force. It highlights leadership in guiding teams, encouraging participation, and fostering alignment with key priorities.


Self-Discipline
Self-Discipline highlights personal resilience, emotional control, and persistence in the face of obstacles or distractions. It involves maintaining composure under pressure, staying committed to quality work despite setbacks, and filtering out unnecessary distractions. This dimension focuses on an individual's ability to remain steady, focused, and intentional in their efforts, even under difficult circumstances.


Monitoring Performance
Monitoring Performance emphasizes actively tracking, assessing, and adjusting performance based on real-time data. This dimension centers on evaluating key metrics, identifying workload imbalances, and regularly checking in to ensure employees stay on track. It incorporates performance analytics, feedback loops, and adjustments to maintain effectiveness and optimize results.


Flexibility
Flexibility within the Establishing Focus/Direction competency emphasizes a manager's ability to adapt in real time to changing conditions, team dynamics, and unforeseen challenges. It involves adjusting expectations, redistributing workloads, and refining objectives based on feedback or shifting organizational needs. Managers who demonstrate flexibility respond to personnel absences, evolving priorities, or process inefficiencies with agility and empathy--tailoring support and direction to individual strengths and circumstances. The focus is on responsiveness and resilience, ensuring that progress continues even when plans must shift, and that employees remain supported and motivated through change.


Prepares Resources
Prepares Resources focuses on the structural and logistical foundation that enables employees to perform effectively. It involves anticipating needs, securing tools, allocating budgets, and aligning resources with strategic priorities. This dimension is about ensuring readiness (whether through equipment, training, staffing, or support systems) so that employees have what they need before and during execution. It's proactive and infrastructure-oriented, emphasizing the manager's role in removing barriers, optimizing capacity, and investing in long-term capability. The emphasis is on provisioning and positioning the team for success through thoughtful planning and resource stewardship.


Commitment


Time Management


Job Interview Questions



None


Setting Clear Goals


Situational Awareness


Procedures and Directions


Planning and Strategy


Scheduling


Creates Structure


Prioritizes Tasks and Resources


Guides


Standards of Performance


Focuses Attention


Self-Discipline


Monitoring Performance


Flexibility


Prepares Resources


Commitment


Time Management