Did you only “meet expectations” this year?
Amii Barnard-Bahn, JD, PCC
C-suite Coach | Partner, Kaplan & Walker | Board Member | HR, Compliance & Ethics Advisor | Contributor, Harvard Business Review | Ranked #1 Global Thought Leader in Careers & Legal | MG100 | Former CAO, CCO, CHRO
It’s inevitable in corporations.
Even I had to do it. Although the incident happened over a dozen years ago, the awkwardness and discomfort feels fresh.
I had to give a solid performer a “meets expectations” rating in our annual corporate performance review process.
As one of my executive clients said wryly, “I guess the greatest sin you can make as a leader is telling someone they’re doing their job just fine.”
On its face, it’s a positive rating. But it feels terrible.
I know because it happened to me one year. I was extremely disappointed and went to my boss, and he gave me some great advice that I’ll never forget. He said, “You know, some years you just don’t get the opportunity to shine, and this was one of these years for you. You led a high visibility project last year, and those just don’t come along all the time. Like it or not, most people in every company are going to get “meets expectations.”
His advice offered a helpful mindset, and made the rating feel less personal. It gave me a greater perspective, as I was not yet an executive and having to make these tough decisions.
The pyramid is small at the top, and only a few high performers get recognized. One of the healthiest things you can do is to make peace with this situation and understand that it’s not necessarily about you. It just happens to be the year that you weren’t given a standout opportunity to shine.
You can, however, use this review as a time to have a powerful conversation with your boss about what standout behavior looks like in your role. What is coming down the pike that you could volunteer for? What are some problems of value to the company that you could help solve? Be proactive and learn how to get ahead of it for next time.
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Here’s to always growing, always learning!
Amii
Great insights, Amii Barnard-Bahn, JD, PCC
CEO, Leadership & Executive Coach at BigBlueGumball. TEDx speaker. Author of “VisuaLeadership.” MG 100 Coaches.
8 个月Great piece, Amii! Years ago I worked for a company that gave three possible performance ratings: Awesome, Met Expectations, or Needs Improvement. After receiving an Awesome, I did even better the following review period...but I only received a Met Expectations. The reason why? Company policy was that you were not allowed to receive an Awesome twice in a row...regardless of your performance. I was demoralized and demotivated. And, of course, human nature being what it is, this system actually led to dimimished performance and productivity in the period after receiving an Awesome...as, with this policy, there was no incentive to exceed expecations two periods in a row. For this and a number of other reasons, I believe in a 5-point, rather than a 3-point, rating scale.
CEO & Entrepreneur ?? Business Advisor ?? Best-Selling Author ?? Multi-certified Business Growth coach ?? 25+ Years as a Startup COO/Sales, VP & CMO ?? Endorsed by Alan Mulally, Marshall Goldsmith, Amy Edmondson ??
8 个月Interesting. I have always wondered about these types of reviews when we know of the idiosyncratic rating effect I’m not sure why we still keep doing these when we know they say much more about the raider and they do about the one being rated. Also, why only once a year? Maybe it’s because they are geared more towards the company and it’s budget that it is about making people better and helping them figure out ways to do what they love and are great at most often.????♂?
Organizational Psychologist | Executive Coach | Speaker| Author. I help leaders grow profitable businesses by creating respectful workplaces. Forbes Contributor | Thinkers50 Coaches50 list.
8 个月Amii a young woman I mentor asked me about this recently. Her manager started her "annual review" (surely organizations realize a year between feedback sessions is too long) by commending her for always going "above and beyond" and exceeding her expectations. Then she proceeded to explain that only a certain number of people could get the "exceeds" rating and therefore my mentee got "meets." My mentee was furious but I told her to instead focus on asking (a) what can she do in the future to be in that top category, (b) what did those who were rated in the top category do that she could learn from, and (c) asking her manager for her support in getting to that top category next time. She liked my advice but, like many young people, said that she wasn't sure she would wait around to see if the organization would do better next time. She is looking for her next job! Great article. Thank you.
Executive Coach & Career Acceleration Catalyst | Leader progression path into Executive & C-Suite roles | Speaker, Trainer & Facilitator | I help high performing women keep their head in the game while playing the game!
8 个月The wisdom provided by your leader I fully embraced and shared with my Directs in the past. Some years, you have the drive, energy and the right set of "objectives" that lean into broader visibility. Some years, getting the work delivered without the additional opportunity for high impact and visibility isn't there. Also accounting for whatever "life" curveballs that were dealt are also in the mix, and it is a year vs year experience. Great article to amplify and put things into perspective Amii Barnard-Bahn, JD, PCC ?