The ALAMO Model
If you’ve got a performance problem, there is a process to go through to figure out what’s causing it. Maybe the person doesn’t have the knowledge or skill or capability. Or is it motivation, or something about relationships within the work environment? Or lack of clarity about expectations?
Karen May, VP, People Development, Google
(NYTimes 12/29/2012)
We developed the ALAMO Model to help us and our clients to diagnose suboptimal performance before jumping to conclusions as to what the best solution might be. Karen May (quoted above) was making an observation in the context of diagnosing individual performance and jumping to the conclusion that training is always the answer when there are many other possible causes and, therefore, better solutions.
The ALAMO Model can be used to diagnose suboptimal performance at the individual, team, and/or organizational level. It is easy to train and use because it is both intuitive and can be easily integrated into the language of the organization by having a simple acronym to use. (In the U.S., "Alamo" has certain meanings, but translates only into Spanish where it means a type of tree.) We use it as an integral part of The ManagerCoach process to help managers be better at performance management and development.