Assessment, Good or Bad?
Assessment, good or bad?
Think of the last time somebody praised you for something you had done. Think of the last time several people praised you for something you had done. Unless we are incredibly arrogant, I can’t imagine there are many, if any, that do not like being praised. Of course, how we are praised makes a big difference, but overall the feelings that are evoked when we receive praise, are the motivators that drive us to do even better. If we are receiving praise for achieving something that others have demanded, there is a change in how we feel. Perhaps we feel satisfied that we have proven ourselves, or we have feelings of superiority that perhaps now our talent will be more readily recognised.
When we receive praise for something we have initiated or agreed to, our feelings take on a different perspective. Achieving and praise, now brings feelings like, humility, gratitude, relief, perhaps embarrassment, and almost always the desire to either do it again, or to do something greater. What about self-praise? Is it OK to praise ourselves, to be self-satisfied? I believe it is, and I am a great advocate of the self-assessment principle especially when the benchmarks are clear and understood. When the benchmark for excellence is clear and unambiguous, why should I not be given the opportunity to say whether I have achieved that benchmark, and to feel good about it?
I love the concept that a manager must say why I have not achieved, rather than me prove that I have; and the inference here, is that both parties have the responsibility to offer evidence to support the assessment.
Self-assessment not only empowers, but it also brings with it responsibility. If the expectations are clearly, and as I have said, unambiguously understood, then self-assessment becomes a real option for the majority of those who are managed. The onus being on both parties to responsibly look at the evidence provided to ensure that it meets the benchmarks agreed. When so much is being said about Performance Management, Appraisals, Reviews, and such, I add my voice to the suggestion that all the above are not an event, rather they are a process. Self-evaluation and assessment are a daily occurrence, we all know whether we have had a good day, or a bad day, because we all know what a good or bad day, looks like. I believe the future of Performance Management lies in giving people the right to self-assess and to account for their achievements against agreed expectations. Consider this statement.
'When Performance is measured, performance improves, when performance is accounted for, the improvement accelerates'