CPM Goal Setting & Performance Development 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a mentee sets a goal that is technically achievable but requires no growth or challenge, the mentor should:
- Approve it to build early confidence
- Encourage the mentee to raise the difficulty level (Correct answer)
- Report the goal to the mentee's supervisor
- Abandon goal-setting for this mentee
Correct answer: Encourage the mentee to raise the difficulty level
Goals should stretch the mentee's capabilities enough to promote meaningful development, not simply confirm existing skills.
Question 2: The 'R' in the SMART goal framework most commonly stands for:
- Reasonable
- Resourced
- Relevant (Correct answer)
- Realistic
Correct answer: Relevant
In most professional frameworks, 'Relevant' ensures the goal aligns with broader objectives, though 'Realistic' is also widely used.
Question 3: A mentor notices that a mentee consistently sets multiple competing goals simultaneously, leading to poor progress on all of them. The best response is to:
- Allow the mentee to self-correct over time
- Help the mentee prioritize and focus on one or two key goals (Correct answer)
- Set the goals on behalf of the mentee
- Discontinue the mentoring relationship
Correct answer: Help the mentee prioritize and focus on one or two key goals
Helping mentees prioritize goals reduces fragmentation and directs effort toward meaningful progress.
Question 4: Which type of goal focuses on the behaviors and skills a mentee needs to develop rather than on end results?
- Outcome goal
- Performance goal
- Learning goal (Correct answer)
- Stretch goal
Correct answer: Learning goal
Learning goals center on acquiring new knowledge or skills, making them especially valuable when the path to results is uncertain.
Question 5: A mentee reaches a milestone ahead of schedule. As a mentor, you should first:
- Immediately assign a new harder goal
- Celebrate the achievement and explore what made it possible (Correct answer)
- Warn the mentee not to rush future goals
- Report the progress to management
Correct answer: Celebrate the achievement and explore what made it possible
Acknowledging success and reflecting on contributing factors reinforces effective behaviors and motivates continued effort.
Question 6: In performance development, 'closing the gap' refers to:
- Resolving conflicts between the mentor and mentee
- Reducing the difference between current performance and the desired standard (Correct answer)
- Eliminating underperforming employees
- Narrowing the age difference in mentor-mentee pairs
Correct answer: Reducing the difference between current performance and the desired standard
Gap analysis in performance development identifies where a mentee currently stands versus where they need to be, and planning focuses on bridging that space.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes 'performance development planning' in a mentoring context?
- A disciplinary process for underperformers
- A collaborative process to identify growth areas and create action steps (Correct answer)
- A formal HR evaluation of the mentee's annual review
- A training schedule assigned unilaterally by the mentor
Correct answer: A collaborative process to identify growth areas and create action steps
Performance development planning in mentoring is a joint, forward-looking process designed to map out targeted actions for the mentee's growth.
CPM Goal Setting & Performance Development 2
When a mentee sets a goal that is technically achievable but requires no growth or challenge, the mentor should: