Dialogs

What are Dialogs and How Can You Optimize Them?

Dialogs are highly interactive, team‑based, open, and collaborative. Information moves freely among participants rather than flowing only through the leader. Dialogs drive problem identification, discovery, and problem‑solving. They build team pride by showing that the organization is progressing and that individuals are making a difference.

Peers have high expectations for preparation and performance. Dangling items are captured, and there is follow‑through. Dialogs bring people and functions together to discuss progress‑to‑plan, reinforce accountability, and celebrate success while addressing shortfalls. The leader guides this process and keeps the conversation productive.

1. Individual Dialog (Monthly) – Mentees meet with their mentors to discuss personal development, insights, and concerns. Key takeaways from these meetings are shared in Department Dialogs.
2. Project Dialog (Bi-Weekly) – Teams working on projects meet every two weeks to review progress and challenges. Important insights from these discussions are also brought to Department Dialogs.
3. Department Dialog (Monthly) – Key department personnel gather to review findings from Individual and Project Dialogs, ensuring alignment and addressing broader departmental concerns.
4. Organization Dialog (Monthly) – Strategic planning takes place at the organizational level, incorporating insights from Department Dialogs to guide decision-making and long-term goals.

This structure ensures a continuous flow of communication from individual and project levels up through departments and the organization.

Dialogs can be created on Organization, Department, Project, and Individual pages. You can find them under the {Page Type} Dialogs tab.

Legacy Dialog Structure

Before dialog templates were introduced, dialogs used a freeform agenda and optional notes areas. These elements are still available for organizations that have not yet adopted templates.

Agenda (Legacy)

The agenda lists the topics to be covered during the dialog. It is a flexible, freeform notes area where you can outline discussion points, reminders, or preparation notes for the meeting, and even copy the previous dialog's agenda to get started on the next dialog quicker.

Basic Role Notes (Individual Dialogs)

Individual dialogs include a Basic Role Notes section. This area allows the mentee to document progress, challenges, and insights related to each of their key result areas. This section remains available even when using dialog templates.

Dialog Templates (New)

Dialog templates introduce a structured, customizable dialog experience. Instead of a freeform agenda, templates define the sections and notes areas that make up the dialog. This ensures consistency across the organization and helps guide participants through the intended flow of the conversation.

Each section in a template represents a specific part of the dialog and includes its own notes area or data snapshot. Templates allow organizations to standardize how dialogs are prepared, conducted, and documented.

All template sections support two optional configuration settings:

• Required Notes – When enabled, the dialog cannot be marked as completed until notes have been entered for that section.
• Estimated Discussion Time – An optional field where you can specify how long the section should take during the dialog. This helps leaders plan the flow and pacing of the meeting.

Below are the available dialog template sections and how they are intended to be used.

Available Template Sections and Their Intended Use

Prompt Only

A single question or instruction with no response field. Used for structured prompts, reminders, or reflection questions. You can add multiple Prompt Only sections, each with its own unique prompt.

Rich Text Response

A question or prompt followed by a rich‑text notes area. Supports formatted text, tables, images, and longer narrative responses. Ideal for detailed updates, coaching notes, or discussion summaries. Multiple Rich Text Response sections can be added with different titles.

Prior Follow‑Ups

Displays all follow‑up tasks created before this dialog. Used to review commitments from previous dialogs and confirm completion. Helps reinforce accountability and continuity from dialog to dialog.

Follow‑Up Tasks

Shows the follow‑up tasks created for this dialog. Used to capture new commitments, next steps, and action items arising from the conversation. This section is part of how a dialog is marked “completed” in Connections.

Key Result Area Notes

Equivalent to the legacy Basic Role Notes from individual dialogs. Provides a notes area for discussing each of the individual’s key result areas. Supports role‑specific development, performance insights, and targeted coaching. Available only on Individual Dialogs, but can be placed anywhere in the template.

Year‑End Commitment Snapshot

Displays the individual’s Year‑End Commitments as they existed at the time the dialog was held. Includes a notes area for discussing progress, challenges, or alignment with commitments. Useful for monthly check‑ins and long‑term performance tracking.

Performance Development Goals Snapshot

Shows the individual’s Performance Development Goals at the time of the dialog. Includes a notes area for discussing development progress, training needs, or obstacles. Supports ongoing professional growth and mentoring.

Metrics Snapshot

Captures the associated metrics for the dialog ancestor (organization, department, project, or individual) at the time the dialog was held. Includes a notes area for discussing metric performance, trends, and areas needing attention. Useful for data‑driven conversations and progress‑to‑plan reviews.

Linked Project Snapshot

Displays the projects linked to the dialog ancestor at the time of the dialog. Shows basic project information and includes a notes area for discussing project status, risks, or accomplishments. Helps connect dialog discussions to active project work.

Templates allow organizations to standardize how dialogs are prepared, conducted, and documented.

How to Create / Edit / Delete

• Use the button in the page title for the dialog list page to create a new dialog for the current page. Fill out the fields in the form and use the Save button in the top right to save.
• Right click the dialog in the list to edit or delete a dialog.

Additional Information

• Dialog Completion:  In Connections, a dialog is marked as completed when either a new follow-up task or comment has been created on or after the dialog date has arrived.
  1. Create a follow-up task for the dialog.
     • These are usually tasks related to feedback in the dialog or preparation for the next dialog. If the task does not have a projected end date the PM dashboard will assume that the task is to be completed by the next dialog.
  2. Enter a comment on the dialog.
     • This message is usually related to content not covered in the agenda or comments about how the dialog went. Whenever a dialog cannot be held due to leave of absence or another reason, placing a comment in the dialog explaining why it couldn't be held will keep you from being dinged on the charts later.
• PM Expectations: it's expected that the organization, each department and individual has a dialog each month. For projects each active project (has an actual start date and no actual end date) is expected to hold a dialog every other week. These expectations will show on the dialog charts at the top of those respective page's dashboards and in some reports such as the individual performance report.
• Dialog Report: available on the dialog page under the page actions ⋮ button in the top right of the page. This report is a printer friendly version of the dialog data with options to hide content that's not needed.

Webinar: How to Create a Culture That Supports Dialogs

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