Free tool · Oct 2026 · 2 min read
The P/L/D Diagnostic
Is your initiative Performance, Learning — or Development?
Download PDFIs your initiative Performance, Learning — or Development?
Most of what we call "development" is not. Hard work feels developmental, but hard ≠ developmental. This one-page tool helps you see what you are really running.
The framework: two axes — time and space
| Performance | Learning | Development | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Days to weeks | Weeks to months | Years |
| Space | This context only | Similar contexts | Unfamiliar contexts |
| Transfer test | New role? It doesn't travel. | New role, similar work? It transfers. | New role, unfamiliar work? It holds. |
Development used to be a by-product of work. As routine experience is automated away, it now has to be designed on purpose.
Warm-up: which one is development?
- A. A new manager inherits a failing team. Fix it in 90 days or it is restructured. Weekly coaching from her director.
- B. A high-potential shadows a senior leader for six months, debriefing weekly with a coach on what they observed.
- C. A compliance e-learning with branching scenarios, a test and a certificate.
Answer: A is Performance (known task, 90-day horizon — the coaching is support). B is Learning (observing, not owning; strip the safety net and give her the outcome, and it becomes development). C is Performance (bound to this compliance context).
The diagnostic — apply it to something live
| 1. Initiative I'm running (real, not hypothetical) | |
| 2. Transfer test — New role? New country? New industry? → P / L / D | |
| 3. What I designed it as | P / L / D |
| 4. What it actually is (be honest) | P / L / D |
| 5. One level up — what would move it to the next category? |
The gap between rows 3 and 4 is your insight.
Evaluate each with its own lens
- Performance: Did we deliver — on time, on budget?
- Learning: Did we level up? Can we apply it elsewhere?
- Development: Are we ready for the unknown — confident and humble?
Check yourself
- Do I reward speed, or insight?
- Do people have space to experiment, or only to execute?
- Are we surviving now, or building capacity for the unknown?
Builds on Kolb (1984) and McCall (1998). © Evis Qeska · QuestChange · questchange.com
Evis Qeska
Leadership and learning advisor in Copenhagen. Helps leaders and HR teams build organisations that learn. More about Evis