LEVEL UP: Strengthening Data-Driven Coaching for UP Diliman Supervisors

Supervision, at its core, is about helping people understand what is expected of them, recognize their strengths and gaps, navigate challenges, and find meaningful ways to improve.

That idea anchored Leading the Excellence and Value Empowerment through Learning for UP Diliman (LEVEL UP) on Data-Driven Coaching for Performance Improvement, a four-day learning program held on August 4, 5, 11, and 14, 2026, in partnership with the University of the Philippines Supervisors Alliance, Inc. (UPSA). Through discussions, group activities, case studies, coaching simulations, reflection exercises, and a capstone project, the program aimed to help participants strengthen their practice of performance management and employee development.

Leading Change Through Coaching

Opening the program, HRDO Director Arthur A. Gonzales III underscored the role supervisors play in shaping the growth and development of their staff. Effective university leaders, he explained, are expected not only to demonstrate courageous and decisive leadership, but also to lead change, manage performance, coach for results, collaborate, and plan strategically.

UPSA President Rosalinda J. Tingco echoed this responsibility in her opening remarks, reminding participants that a supervisor's role goes beyond simply ensuring that tasks are completed. "The work of a supervisor is to make sure that the work gets done," she said, adding that every decision supervisors make carries real weight in transforming their staff and improving how they work.

Setting Practical Goals

From the outset, participants set clear, practical goals for the training. They hoped to strengthen their coaching and leadership competencies, learn effective approaches to feedback and mentoring, and build data-driven performance management skills. Just as important, they wanted to establish objective performance standards, identify performance gaps, and monitor employee progress through fair and evidence-based evaluation.

From Measurement to Meaning

Across the four days, LEVEL UP reframed performance management as more than measurement and ratings. It connected data with dialogue, goals with development, and performance with people.

Participants began by examining how performance can be measured objectively, then moved into the more nuanced work of supervision: communicating expectations clearly, diagnosing performance concerns, and coaching employees through challenges. They practiced giving constructive feedback, crafting SMART goals and meaningful Individual Development Plans, and monitoring progress through multiple sources of information rather than relying on a single measure.

Beyond the Evaluator's Role

The training ultimately pointed toward a broader view of leadership—one in which supervisors are not simply evaluators of performance, but also coaches, mentors, communicators, and enablers of employee growth.

This shift in perspective resonated with participants throughout the program. As one put it during a reflection session, supervisors do not always need to provide the solution themselves; what matters more is coaching that empowers others to find their own.

A Call to Lead Better

Closing the program, UPSA Vice President Pepito T. Dizon called on fellow supervisors to carry the lessons of LEVEL UP into their daily practice. "We call on all our supervisor-members to lead better and engage more so we can transform the landscape of performance and productivity, not only in the University, but also within our Alliance," he said. "In doing so, we also move closer to the values that define us: Honor, Excellence, Public Service, and Compassion."

Leveling Up, Together

For UP Diliman, leveling up supervisory practice means building workplaces where performance expectations are clearer, conversations are more intentional, development is more purposeful, and employees are given meaningful opportunities to grow.