5 Ways to Screw-up a Performance Discussion

The most exciting time of the year is here again! While line managers are busy talking about the targets they met, HR folks are busy making the organisation fit in a bell [curve] and employees are ensuring to have those coffee & corridor conversations.

Over the years I have managed, conducted & reviewed appraisal discussions. While there are many reasons which can lead to a disastrous appraisal discussion, these five top my list.

Here are the top 5 ways to screw up a performane review discussion

#1. Not preparing – Unfortunately many employees walk into a performance discussion without proper preparation and documents and decide to rely on their memory. Preparation helps to focus on “Performance Improvement” and also to examine the performance in an unbiased way. It is important to analyse the successes & failures, highlight & lowlights, rights & wrongs to make the manager believe that you are aware of your strengths & opportunities for improvement.

#2. Being Defensive – Employees should very clearly understand the difference between being defensive and expressing their opinions & perceptions. Sometimes even constructive criticism and feedback is not received and becomes prey of defensiveness syndrome. Make sure you are aware of your body language, listen, receive the feedback and get the drift.

#3. Show me the money – There is a reason it’s called a Performance Review Discussion and not Salary Review Discussion. Superior performance and a positive feedback from manager will certainly give you a satisfying raise in your salary. Raise in the salary (if needs to be discussed) is best to be discussed in a separate meeting, which should have only one agenda of ‘Show me the money!’

#4. Holier than thou – Every employee has different capacity and capability to perform and has their own strengths and weaknesses. It is imperative to remember that performance discussion is a way to assess your performance and hence it would be unfair to compare performances. Comparison leads to resistance, de-motivation, defensiveness & low self-confidence.

#5. Expecting the unexpected – A performance review discussion is hotbed of emotions. Often there is a mismatch between employee’s self-assessment and manager’s expectation and assessments. It is important to be positive and actively participate in the performance review conversation with a focus on how things can be improved in future. Let the work achievements and accomplishments set the basis for reviewing your performance. Be optimistic but don’t over expect.

Illustration by R. Kikuo Johnson