Do you evaluate yourself?

With Q3 round the corner, in many organizations it’s that time of the year when managers and employees engage in the performance appraisal process. For majority of us this is a cyclical process where our goals are set on an annual basis, reviewed periodically (every six months or so) and evaluated on an annual basis. This is an important exercise from an organization standpoint though it rarely falls into the ‘favorite thing’ to do for both the manager and the employee. While this process is far from perfect, outcomes are and will be subject to personal interpretations, ratings can be inconsistent; it is fair to say that this process is here to stay.

The flip side of the corporate performance appraisal is ‘personal evaluation’. This is quite different from self-evaluation as part of the corporate performance appraisal in that it focuses on YOU! Here you take the time to evaluate yourself against the indicators that are important to you. Here you are in charge of determining what is important to you and have the freedom to change the indicators are things change in life. They key however is to take the time to reflect on each of the indicator, provide honest responses and come up with an action plan that can help move the needle in the direction you want. In my experience, I have found the reviewing this exercise semiannually is helpful. Also keeping the action plan current is important.

Here I am providing a sample of what can be a starting point of a personal evaluation sheet. Remember this sheet will be very different for each one of us based on what we feel is important and relevant at a point in our lives. As you can see, it is very different from any of the corporate goals but focused on YOUR GOALS. The idea is to come up with an Action Plan for each indicator. Are there any other indicators that you would add or remove from the list below? 

Time related indicators:

• I am able to spend the time to understand the big picture for the efforts I am involved in
• I am able to set aside time to learn new things
• I am able to take the time with my mentor as well as to mentor someone
• I am able to follow the process to achieve my goals

Energy related indicators

• My work and the challenges I face energizes me
• I am not forced to react too quickly without understanding the options
• I am visibly satisfied at when dealing with challenging situations

Resource related indicators

• I have the needed resources to get the job done
• I have the freedom to ask for additional resources when the need arises
• I receive help when sought
• I am actively working on my next career goal

Satisfaction and happiness related indicators

• I feel appreciated
• I am satisfied with the quality of my work
• I have a clear understanding of what I need to do to grow in my role