Guidance-Seeking Skill Development and Tools
I.
Practice Progression
A.
Suggested Practices
Before your next check-in, write down every item you plan to raise, and for each one, note whether it is a well-formed question (issue, options, recommendation) or still just an observation - practice converting the observations into well-formed questions before the meeting.
- 1.After receiving guidance or a correction, write a one-line summary of the decision and send it back for confirmation, even when the guidance was given verbally and felt clear in the moment.
- 2.Ask your mentor directly, early on, what kinds of decisions you are trusted to make independently versus what should always be checked — do not assume this line is obvious without asking.
- 3.Keep a log of guidance‑seeking instances, noting whether you asked at the right time, with the right information, and whether your recommendation proved right.
II.
Tool Categories
| Tool Category | Representative Tools | How an OFA 1 Uses Them |
|---|---|---|
| Check-in and status tracking | A running document, Microsoft To Do, or a shared notes page | Maintaining a short, specific list of items to raise at the next check-in |
| Written confirmation of verbal guidance | Email, Microsoft Teams chat | Sending a one-line written recap of a verbal decision back to the managerfor confirmation |
| Escalation and issue tracking | Azure DevOps, Jira, a shared issue log | Recording an escalation with what was found, what was checked, and a specific ask |
| AI drafting assistance | Approved AI writing assistants | Turning a rough concern into a clearly worded question before raising it |
- Written confirmation of verbal guidance·Email, Microsoft Teams chat Sending a one-line written recap of a verbal decision back to the manager for confirmation
A.
Appropriate Use
- 1.An AI assistant can help a learner turn a vague sense that "something is off" into a more precisely worded question before bringing it to a supervisor - for example, asking an assistant to help restate a jumbled concern into a clear issue statement with two possible options.
- 2.This is a legitimate use, since it improves the quality of the question itself.
- 3.It should never be used to generate the actual recommendation on a real, specific situation the assistant has no true information about; the AI can help the learner word their own thinking more clearly, but the thinking - what actually happened, what the options really are, which one the learner actually believes is right - must come from the learner, not from the tool.