“Inconsistent people leadership is expensive. And exhausting.”
Alku PERFORM™
A minimum viable people leadership cadence for managers
Alku PERFORM helps founder-led companies make people leadership more consistent as the team grows. It gives managers a practical cadence for expectations, 1:1s, feedback, development check-ins, and performance conversations so people leadership does not depend only on individual manager style. This is a structured, high-touch implementation module built on training, real-life practice, clinics, and calibration.
The problem this journey solves
When managers don’t have a clear cadence, performance and development become inconsistent.
Expectations stay vague. Feedback comes too late. Underperformance is avoided until it becomes harder to address. High performers don’t always get the growth conversations they need.
Managers also start carrying too much alone.
What this often looks like today:
managers run 1:1s unevenly or not at all, and key conversations get postponed
feedback happens late, so problems escalate and feel personal
expectations aren’t explicit, so “performance issues” are hard to address fairly
managers feel alone and drained because everyone invents their own style
development feels ad hoc, and retention risk increases for people who want to grow
employees experience people leadership differently depending on who their manager is
Why this is a risk right now:
As your team grows, people leadership quality becomes a system problem.
Without a shared baseline, inconsistency scales, and both underperformance and burnout become more likely.
Who this is for
Alku PERFORM™ is a good fit if you:
have managers, often first-time managers, and want people leadership to become more consistent
want expectations, feedback, and development conversations to happen earlier and with better quality
see underperformance addressed too late, or avoided, because the baseline is unclear
want managers to build capability through real practice, not just training
want a practical cadence without launching a heavy performance management program
have already built some leadership and culture foundations and now need to reinforce people leadership in everyday work
Not for
Alku PERFORM™ is not a fit if you:
don’t want to commit to building a long-term baseline for people leadership
don’t see high-quality people leadership as a real lever for productivity and execution
believe managers are not willing or able to develop their own routines
are looking for compensation benchmarking or salary model design
want a full performance management redesign or enterprise HR transformation
are looking for HRIS/tool implementation
are mainly looking for individual 1:1 coaching
PERFORM is structured manager capability-building and cadence implementation. It is not a heavy HR program.
What you’ll walk away with
By the end of Alku PERFORM, you have:
A shared baseline for people leadership that managers understand and run
A practical manager cadence for 1:1s, feedback, development check-ins, and performance conversations
Earlier, higher-quality feedback and clearer expectations
A more consistent employee experience across managers
A stronger manager identity and peer support network
Simple templates and language managers can use in real conversations
A better rhythm for addressing underperformance early before it escalates
The goal is not to make people leadership heavy.
The goal is to make it consistent enough that employees know what to expect, and managers are not left to invent everything alone.
How it works
Alku PERFORM runs one full people leadership cycle in a concentrated format.
Managers don’t just learn the concepts. They practice them in real work, then return to clinics to reflect, calibrate, and adjust.
The rhythm is:
Train → Field exercise → Clinic → Adjust
Typical timeline: up to 6 months.
The module includes:
an in-person 24-hour kick-off offsite
six focused training sessions
field exercises between sessions
practical clinics for reflection, calibration, and troubleshooting
an in-person final clinic to consolidate and decide the way forward
The content covers the core people leadership conversations managers need to run consistently:
expectations and what “good” looks like
1:1s
feedback
growth and development conversations
mid-year or regular performance check-ins
year-end / performance discussions
salary discussion preparation, when relevant
Exact timing and scope are confirmed together before delivery.
Case: From inconsistent people leadership to a practical cadence
Context
The company had grown without a consistent people leadership rhythm.
Managers were committed and well-intentioned, but everyone had developed their own way of leading. Some 1:1s happened regularly, some didn’t. Feedback was often delayed, development discussions were informal, and performance issues tended to surface late.
What changed
People leadership became more consistent and less dependent on individual manager style.
Managers had clearer routines and language for expectations, feedback, and development. Conversations happened earlier, and employees gained a more predictable experience of support, recognition, and growth.
What we worked on
We created a minimum viable people leadership cadence: clearer manager expectations, a simple 1:1 structure, feedback principles and simple language managers can use, and lightweight check-ins for performance and growth.
The work focused on practical routines managers could actually use, not a heavy performance management system.
What this looked like in practice
Employees experienced people leadership differently depending on who their manager was.
Expectations were not always explicit, high performers did not always get the recognition or development conversations they needed, and managers often carried issues alone.
What the client said
“Before this, people leadership depended too much on the individual manager. The work gave us simple routines and a shared language for expectations, feedback, and development conversations.”
— Leadership team member, growth-stage company
Investment
From €7,900 (+ VAT)
Alku PERFORM is priced as a package based on the number of managers, delivery format, and scope.
The package typically includes the in-person kick-off offsite, focused training sessions, field exercises, practical clinics, and the final in-person clinic.
Venue, catering, and travel costs are covered by the client when applicable.
Final scope and pricing are confirmed together before delivery.
How to start
Start with a 45-minute Intro Call.
We’ll confirm fit, timing, who should participate, and whether PERFORM is the right next step.
If people leadership cadence is not the real bottleneck, we’ll identify that too, and choose the most sensible next step.
FAQ
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No.
PERFORM runs one full people leadership cycle, but it is delivered in a concentrated format, typically up to 6 months.
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The package includes an in-person 24-hour kick-off offsite, six focused training sessions, practical clinics, field exercises, and an in-person final clinic.
Exact timing and structure are confirmed together before delivery.
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Yes, light field exercises between sessions.
The point is to practice in real life, then troubleshoot and calibrate together in clinics.
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No.
PERFORM builds a minimum viable cadence for everyday people leadership: expectations, feedback, 1:1s, development check-ins, and performance conversations.
It can support formal reviews, but it is not a heavy rating system redesign.
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The kick-off offsite and final clinic are in person.
The trainings and clinics in between are typically online.
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It can be.
PERFORM is often a follow-on module after the leadership and culture foundations are clearer. It can also work as a focused module if inconsistent people leadership is the urgent bottleneck.