Giving Performance Reviews….who’s looking forward to it?

Are You Ready?

It’s Performance Review Season….who’s terrified, and who’s feeling prepared for these conversations?

The single best way to avoid really difficult conversations is to avoid surprises. The best way to avoid surprises is to have regular (and comprehensive…hint, hint) performance discussions all through the year where leaders and individuals talk about what’s going well, and what’s off-track. If these currently happen annually or semi-annually, that’s simply too much time between conversations, and the lack of communication is going to create heartburn.

Seek It Out

If you aren’t getting this from your manager, don’t hope for the best and wait silently. Do your part and let your manager know you want regular feedback and an honest discussion to help both of you. It’s kind of like driving…regular inputs help prevent bigger issues, and keeps us headed where we want to go.

When you get feedback from your manager, make sure you really understand what it means. If you aren’t sure, ask! You are showing that you want to know how to improve your game, and care enough to seek clarification. That’s owning your part!!