You just received your performance evaluation. What can you learn from it to improve your skills?

One factor to include is the competence of the manager running the process. You need to make your assessment of this as it will shape how accurately you think the feedback is. This is not to suggest you downplay it but competence is a big factor in the effectiveness of performance reviews.

Hopefully your evaluation matched your expectations. You should have had a pretty good idea of how things were going to shake out. If not, develop the skill of evaluating your daily performance yourself so you can set goals and metrics for improving on a daily basis.

One mistake I often see my ambitious mentees making is greater focus on their development areas rather than on their strengths after their performance reviews. Analyzing and continuously improving your strengths is an area that can give you a clear edge amongst peers because it's a skill you have already spent hours on and is likely connected to your natural disposition and interests. So, my suggestion is to never overlook your strengths, but rather use them to plan out your next steps. You can also use your strengths to improve on development areas. E.g., if you're good at written communication and want to improve your technical skills, start writing about technical topics you want to learn more about.

1/ You are looking for matches and mismatches between your strengths and how your employer has measured them. 2/ A challenge I faced was when your employer changed its focus during the period of your evaluation. This can lead to a new set of core competencies related to a new company strategy.

Feedback is the source of your growth. I loved 360 feedback, especially any supporting commentary or examples. Sometimes it tells you more about your colleagues and what they expect. However, it's up to you to decide if it's valid or biased. Remember perception is reality for us all.

I found it helpful to not defend or explain when seeking clarification. Ensure you absorb the view you are presented with. Do not interrupt or look annoyed. Then take some time later on the review the feedback clarification and judge its merits.

After setting your goals I recommend creating discrete side projects. Creating side projects ensures you can make progress towards your goals as your day-to-day work may not offer you the opportunity to achieve the goals. If you have a coach first manager then you will not have any problems but if you have a weak insecure manager you may need to convince them that your side projects are not a threat to them.

You must set goals only after you get a thorough feedback. You need to have a plan on what you wish to achieve in the coming year and what steps you will take to reach there. One way of doing this activity is to build OKRs

Your performance evaluation is a valuable feedback mechanism. Analyze the strengths and areas for improvement identified in the evaluation. Leverage strengths to enhance your contributions. Focus on addressing weaknesses through targeted skill development and learning opportunities. Seek clarification on any unclear feedback and discuss constructive action plans with supervisors. Embrace feedback as a tool for personal and professional growth, continually refining your skills and contributing effectively to your role and the organization.

I can always strive to improve my skills by analyzing the interactions I have with users and learning from any feedback provided. For example, if users consistently ask for more specific or detailed information, I can work on providing more thorough responses. If users have trouble understanding my responses, I can work on simplifying my language and using more accessible vocabulary. Overall, I can continue to learn and improve by adapting to the needs and preferences of the users I interact with.