Pathways to Excellence Program
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
- Lao Tzu
No two organizations begin their Performance Excellence journey from the same place. This program was designed to assist organizations as they begin their path and adapts to "meet organizations where they are" and move them toward higher levels of performance.
The program provides education to enhance understanding of the Performance Excellence Framework, including support to develop an Organizational Profile and 20-page Lite Application. Facilitated discussions guide the organization through initial self-assessments by evaluating organizational approaches (processes), and the extent to which they are deployed, evaluated/improved, aligned and integrated throughout the organization. And ultimately, how are these approaches effectively driving organizational results. These steps position the organization to develop a Lite Application that is submitted to Performance Excellence Northwest’s (PENW) for assessment using experienced regional and national Examiners to develop a comprehensive organizational feedback report that helps leaders better understand and prioritize key strengths and opportunities for improvement.
Facilitation & Guidance to Begin Your Performance Excellence Journey
1
Organizational Profile
Designed for those who are early in their learning, an experienced PENW staff member facilitates your senior team through a discussion to develop your Org Profile. This activity supports your team as they uncover, discuss and define the most important aspects of your organization. This activity supports the development of a 5-pg summary of your key data and organizational characteristics within the context of your current strategic situation.
2
Lite Application
In the second step, a facilitated session by an experienced PENW staff member or coach leads the organization through the written feedback and assists in understanding. This includes linking OP questions to the Baldrige Excellence Framework process and results categories and assisting in the development of a timeline to get you started on writing a 25-page Lite application addressing the Baldrige Excellence Builder criteria.
3
Actionable Feedback
After submitting your work, PENW assembles an experienced team to assess your organization using a peer-based, systematic process. It identifies strengths (keep doing) and opportunities for improvement (consider addressing) to improve your key organizational outcomes. The non-prescriptive 20-30 page feedback report defines potential next steps and is used by many as an input into their next strategic planning process.
Interested in beginning your Performance Excellence Journey?
