How to *NOT* Poke Your Eyes Out During Performance Review Season

Posted on May 04, 2020 by Gina DeRosa, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

(Original blog post from 11/17/2019. See all posts on Sixth Gear Series’ site.)

“It’s Performance Review Day. Last year, my performance review started with Michael asking me what my hopes and dreams were and ended with him telling me that he could bench press 190 pounds. So, I don’t really know what to expect.” – Pam Beesly, The Office

This past Friday, I received a text message from a friend who is a leader at a small organization. It read: “Need to request an official meeting consult with Coach Gina. Re: performance reviews. We have employees who will all be asking for reviews soon and I want to poke my eyes out.” Whether you’re on the leader side or the employee side at your organization, I bet this resonates with you in some way. And if you are an independent business owner, keep reading because this post is for you, too.

Performance reviews shouldn’t feel like filing taxes, but I think most people experience inconvenience, awkwardness, writer’s block, frustration, and all of the other stuff that comes along during a time of year when a seemingly futile yet mandatory event is on the horizon.

I’m curious to know how performance reviews gained this reputation, because actually they are incredibly useful tools when organization leaders embrace them and infuse their importance into the organization’s culture. Independent business owners who do not have any employees or bosses can gain a lot from their own version of performance reviews, too.

Another friend has owned a small organization for many years and only within the past couple of years did she contemplate conducting performance reviews, a thought that came up because of a bad apple who had been spoiling the bunch. The bad apple has since moved on and my friend might very well have rescinded the performance review idea as a result, but it’s never too late for her to create a performance review process towards the effort of ensuring that she doesn’t repeat this experience.

Feedback is data. Data is fuel.

Performance reviews provide a formal opportunity to aid both employee and boss with reflecting on what an employee did well and what they did not do well during some period of time. Sometimes the reviews incorporate feedback from the employee’s peers, though if it’s not strategically solicited, the feedback usually just ends up…

Painting useless rainbows:

“Sally is so amazing to work with. She always starts her meetings on time and sometimes brings delicious snacks!”

Or serving as opportunities to humble-brag on friends’ behalf:

“One thing that Kurt could improve on next year is not working so hard. Sometimes he stays late and works weekends sometimes because he is so dedicated.”

(Sometimes people refuse to write any feedback for their peers, which is feedback in its own way, but still not really helpful for the boss.)

As you wrap up your year-end 2019 performance reviews, here’s what I recommend as a proactive approach to not only appreciate the process but also squeeze out of it as much value as possible:

If you are a leader of people:
- Consider how you can team up with your leader peers to positively approach performance reviews.
- Teach your staff how to effectively evaluate their own performance throughout the year.
- Teach your staff how to frequently and objectively provide feedback to and receive feedback from everyone – including YOU!
- Document the feedback you provide your staff throughout the year.
- Work with a professional coach to help you figure out how to better manage the people side of your responsibilities.

If you are a direct report:
- Write down your accomplishments, failures, and ‘lessons learned’ as they occur.
- Create a consistent habit out of both giving and asking for feedback.
- Set REAL, raising-the-bar goals for yourself and assess your progress at least twice a month.
- Work with a coach to supplement the professional development activities you engage in at the office.

If you are a colleague:
- Look past Sally’s snacks and Kurt’s kick-ass work ethic to give them real-time feedback about their true work-related strengths and areas of improvement. For example, maybe Sally’s snacks are a decoy for you to keep showing up to her ineffective meetings, or perhaps Kurt’s late nights result from his lack of time management skills.
- Keep your unconscious biases in check.

If you are an independent business owner:
- Identify methods to provide feedback to and receive feedback from clients/customers, consultants, vendors, collaborators, and others with whom you engage on behalf of your business.
- Document your accomplishments, failures, and ‘lessons learned’ as they occur.
- Work with a coach who will conduct a 360 Assessment – a significantly effective method for obtaining truly objective feedback.

Before the end of the year, carve out some time to think about how consistent, objective feedback flowing to and from everyone in your organization can help each individual to raise the bar on their performance and then naturally push the overall organization towards even greater success. As you plan for the next year, I’m here to help you put your ideas into action and leverage the priceless fuel of feedback that will accelerate you, your team, and your overall organization towards the highest levels of potential.