Reviews & performance
Turn review feedback into a plan
A short worksheet to pick one or two things from your review and turn them into something you'll actually try
Pick one or two things from your review, write what you'll try and how you'll know it's working, and share the plan with your manager.
- 20 minutes
- You and your manager
- Once
- Worksheet
Why this can work
Review feedback usually fades within weeks because nobody turns it into anything specific. Choosing one or two points, and writing down what you'll actually do differently, makes it concrete enough to act on. Sharing the plan with your manager turns their feedback into something you're working on together.
Read moreHow to make a development plan from review feedback
You’ll come away with a short plan for one or two changes, and a date to check in on it.
- Pick one or two things.
Choose what you believe is true and what would matter most to your manager. If everything feels important, start with whatever came up more than once.
Tip: Pick fewer than you think you should. Two changes you make beat five you meant to.
- Write what good would look like, and your first step.
Use the worksheet in short answers. Describe what someone would notice if you'd got better at it, then the first thing you'll try, small enough to start this week.
Stays in this browser only. Nobody else sees it.
- Ask your manager for advice on it.
Share the plan and ask what they'd suggest, rather than whether it's right.
To: your managerThanks again for the review. I've picked the things I want to work on first: first thing and second thing.
Here's what I heard, and what I think it means: what you heard, in a line. To start, I'm going to what you'll try first.
What advice would you give me as I try it? I'll come back to you in about a month with how it's going.
Swap the highlighted parts for your thing. Works on Slack, in email, or said out loud. - Check in on the date you agreed, and adjust.
Say what you tried and what happened, and ask what they've noticed. Keep what's working and change what isn't.
Good times to repeat it: within two weeks of a reviewafter any significant feedbackat the midpoint, to check progress
Making it work for you
Every workplace is different. Here’s what to think about before you start, and what might get in the way.
Things to think about
A change you can make on Tuesday gets made. A change like be more proactive tends to wait for a week that never comes.
What might make this harder
Write the clearest version you can, then ask your manager whether you've understood it. Checking your interpretation is often the fastest way to make vague feedback specific.
Questions people ask
How do I make a development plan after a performance review?
Pick one or two points from the review, write what good would look like and the first small thing you'll try, and agree a date to check in with your manager.
Should I share my improvement plan with my manager?
Usually, yes. It shows you took the feedback seriously and lets your manager help. Ask for their advice on it rather than their approval.
How many things should I work on after a review?
One or two. A few specific changes tend to get made; long lists tend to get forgotten.
What is a development plan?
A short written plan for getting better at something: what you're working on, what you'll try, how you'll know it's working, and when you'll look again.
Why this works, and where it comes from
Feedback from a review has a short shelf life. It arrives at the end of a cycle, often in a document you read once, and then ordinary work closes over it. Nothing in an ordinary week asks you to act on last month's review. That's why so much good feedback, even feedback people agreed with, quietly turns into nothing.
From your manager's side, the weeks after a review are quiet and a little uncertain. They said something important, maybe difficult, and they often don't know whether it landed. A short plan from you answers that. It tells them you heard it, you're taking it seriously, and you've thought about what to do.
Not every criticism is yours to fix alone. When it's really about something outside your control, a project that was understaffed or goals that kept moving, a personal plan won't fix it. Raise it as a problem to solve together instead: here's what I saw, here's what I think it means, here's what we might do.
Asking for advice on the plan, rather than approval, changes the conversation. Approval is a yes or a no. Advice invites your manager to help shape it. People tend to back what they've helped build. Asking for advice also gives them an easy way to correct your reading of what they meant, before you spend a month on the wrong thing.
Other simple things to consider
What to do next
More in Reviews & performance
Help people get you
Do it with Truest and it goes on your permanent record, in a Career Vault your employer doesn’t own.
See how Truest worksAlready a member? Log in- Your growth areas, keptWhat you said you are working on getting better at sits on your Foundation page.
- A reminder beforePut it on your calendar and Truest reminds you before it starts.
- On your recordWhen it's done, it goes on your record with your priorities and progress.
Read this alongside your role page
Tell Truest what you’re dealing with
We read every one, and we write guides for the things that come up most. Leave your email if you’d like to hear when we do.
An exercise written by Truest, based on our experience. Last updated September 25, 2026. We sell a career membership; where that’s relevant above, we say so.