Build an AI-proof review kit for your 1:1s and performance reviews
Joshua Miller
Exec Coach to Google, PayPal, the NFL
57% of employees say they hide their AI use. Are you promoting the wrong person?
Your team hands you AI-assisted work every week. 40% of desk workers say they received AI work in the past month that looked finished but missed the mark.
Reviews are slipping too. 78% of managers used AI to help prepare feedback or reviews in the past year, and only 16% of employees were told.
You still have to rate your team, defend each rating in calibration and say who's ready for promotion. "Their work looks good" won't hold up, because everyone's does.
In 25 years of coaching leaders, I see managers handle this one of two ways. They rate what's on the page and promote someone who can't do the job without the tool. Or they go with their gut and can't defend it when someone pushes back. I've managed teams before, so I know firsthand what it means to get it right when reviewing another person's work, and to make it meaningful.
This workshop gives you a third way. Three questions, asked in any 1:1, show you who can explain and defend their work, and turn your reviews into conversations that mean something. In one afternoon you build the kit on your own team and leave with a playbook for this review cycle and every one after.
What you’ll learn
Walk away with a ready-to-run review kit: six tools and a 10-step playbook, built on your own team, for every 1:1 and performance review.
You'll be able to name the 3 to 5 decisions each role must make themselves, so you rate judgment instead of how the work looks.
You'll leave with a Never Delegate List for every role you manage, tested by other managers.
You'll be able to find out in 10 minutes whether someone can explain and defend their work, so 1:1s stop being status updates.
You'll leave with the Three-Question Check, tried on your own work and prepared for one direct report.
You'll be able to rate the same answer the same way every time, so your ratings hold up in calibration.
You'll leave with a four-level read of each answer, tested against other managers and mapped to your company's own rating scale.
You'll be able to turn 1:1 notes into review sentences, even with reviews due this month, so you bring proof instead of adjectives.
You'll leave with an Evidence Log, a review sentence bank and a fast track for this cycle.
You'll be able to tell a polished performer they can't yet explain their work, so the conversation develops them instead of accusing them.
You'll leave with word-for-word scripts for two hard conversations, rehearsed live.
You'll be able to roll the same check out to your team, so the standard keeps running after today and doesn't depend on you.
You'll leave with a 10-step Playbook, a 15-minute team-meeting routine and an anonymous quarterly team score.
Workshop agenda
See why your review form may reward the wrong person
Rate two pieces of work that both look great, then hear each author answer three questions about it. Watch your own ratings change in ten minutes.
Ask three questions that show who can explain and defend their work
Practice the Three-Question Check in pairs on a sample piece of work, including what to say when someone reads from the page or says the AI recommended it.
Turn what you hear into evidence for your company's ratings
Rate sample answers alongside other managers and see how far apart you land. Then map what you hear to the rating scale or 9-box your company already uses, so it holds up in calibration.
Name the decisions each role on your team must own
In the live Build Lab, write your Never Delegate List: the 3 to 5 calls each role makes itself. Peers challenge every line, and you get every other manager's list, sorted by role.
Test your own AI-assisted decision, then prep your next 1:1
A partner asks you the three questions about a decision you made with AI. Then you prepare your first check for one direct report and draft one review sentence.
Get live coaching on a real review you're writing
Bring your review sentence or prepared check. I coach four managers live while the room learns, then we rehearse the two review conversations managers put off.
Leave with your team announcement scheduled
The fast track for reviews due this month, the plan to roll the check out to your team, and a message to your team scheduled for Monday. Then open Q&A.
Learn directly from Joshua
Joshua Miller
Master Certified Exec Coach to Google, PayPal, Amazon | LinkedIn Top Voice
Who this workshop is for
People managers who run 1:1s and write reviews. Every draft looks polished, and you can't tell who could do the work without AI.
Directors heading into calibration. Every report's work looks strong now, so you need real evidence to defend each rating to your peers.
What's included
Live sessions
Learn directly from Joshua Miller in a real-time, interactive format.
Lifetime access
Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.
Community of peers
Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.
Certificate of completion
Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.
The Review Kit
Six one-page templates you fill in for your own team during the workshop: the Never Delegate List, Three-Question Check, Four-Level Scale, Evidence Log, Review Sentence Bank and Team Rollout Pack.
The Playbook
Ten steps from your next 1:1 to your next calibration meeting, plus a fast track if your reviews are due this month.
Live coaching from a Master Certified Coach
I coach you in the breakout rooms while you build the kit on your real team, then give live coaching on real review evidence in the final session.
Role-by-role decision lists from every manager in your cohort
Every manager in your cohort writes the 3 to 5 decisions each role on their team must make themselves, even when AI drafts the work. Within 48 hours you get every list, anonymized and sorted by role. Use them to set expectations with a new hire, build a list for a role you didn't cover, or test yours against what other managers decided.
Review Debrief
A 30-minute live session with me after review season: what happened when you ran the check, what you wrote, and what calibration said.
Maven Guarantee
Your purchase is backed by the Maven Guarantee.
What leaders say about working with Joshua
“Joshua helped me change what I look for in a 1:1. I was good at tracking deliverables, but less disciplined about spotting the judgment, curiosity, and initiative behind them. He gave me a few simple questions and a way to document what I was actually seeing, not just my impressions. Now I’m clearer about who needs coaching, who is stretching, and who may be ready for a larger role. Even with more AI-generated performance information at my fingertips, I feel better equipped to make the call myself.”
David R., Vice President, Technology
“Talent reviews used to feel like competing opinions. Joshua helped me bring observable evidence and consistent criteria into the room. He also taught me how to challenge assumptions without making people defensive. I now have a clearer way to talk about performance, potential, and who is actually ready for more. Those conversations are sharper and fairer.”
Elizabeth G., Senior Director, SaaS Company
“In sports, a standout performer isn’t necessarily your next leader. Joshua helped me assess our bench beyond results: composure, influence, and readiness for bigger responsibilities. We still use analytics, but I’m far more deliberate about the human factors they miss. That shift has stayed with me.”
Walter L., Director, Professional Sports Organization
Frequently asked questions
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11am–3pm EST