Hacks for Better Calibration Sessions

Take one part confirmation bias, one part recency bias, stir in fear of confrontation, and top it all off with a dash of game theory. The result? The typical performance management calibration meeting.

Organizations love to think they’ve cracked the code on fairness. Calibration meetings, forced rankings, and bell curves are touted as the antidote to biased performance evaluations. In fact, 69% of organizations now rely on calibration processes to guide leaders.

But here’s the twist: these well-intentioned tools often create more problems than they solve. Instead of leveling the playing field, they breed high-stakes bargaining, where power dynamics and persuasion skills overshadow actual performance. The winners? Managers with political capital and a taste for confrontation. The losers? Leaders who avoid conflict or lack the clout to defend their team.

Don’t just take my word for it. Research from a INSEAD revealed a stark truth: supervisors with high political capital entered calibration meetings with inflated ratings—and walked out with them intact. Those less comfortable with conflict? Their team’s ratings often took a hit.

And it gets worse. Neuroscience tells us that these meetings activate the amygdala—the brain’s fight-or-flight center—making it harder to think logically. Faced with the pressure of competitive resource allocation, our brains cut corners, falling back on biases and heuristics that sabotage fairness.

So How Do We Fix This?

There’s no silver bullet, but here are five strategies that can make these meetings less combative and more constructive:

1. Check Yourself

Start with some introspection. Before you step into the meeting, ask yourself:

• What does success look like for me and for the organization?
• Am I genuinely open to different outcomes for my team and others?
• Am I feeling curiosity—or anxiety?

Write down your answers. The act of naming your emotions can help release the stress you’re carrying into the room.

2. Name the Beast

Chances are, if you’re anxious, others are too. Don’t ignore it. Start the meeting with an honest conversation about how difficult this process can be. Call out the pitfalls, like recency bias, and agree as a group to avoid them. Better yet, create a list of dos and don’ts based on lessons from past meetings.

3. Bring in Switzerland

Invite an unbiased observer—a peer from outside your team or even the organization. Their role isn’t to mediate but to observe and share feedback. Simply knowing a neutral party is in the room can help everyone bring their best behavior.

4. Substance Over Style

Stick to the facts. Calibration meetings should focus on tangible, objective outcomes over the entire performance period. Beware of falling into the “style trap,” where charismatic or well-liked managers get a pass. Comments like, “Jack missed his market share goal, but he’s so well-loved” have no place in these discussions. Soft skills matter, but performance calibration is about results.

5. Let It Simmer

Don’t rush to finalize everything. After the meeting, take a breather and regroup. Reflect on the ratings once the initial tension has subsided. When your brain chemistry returns to baseline, you may see things in a new light.

Imperfection Is Inevitable, But Progress Is Possible

There’s no perfect calibration system, and there probably never will be. Human judgment is inherently flawed. But by acknowledging the biases and behaviors that derail these meetings, we can take meaningful steps toward a more constructive process.

The next time you walk into a calibration meeting, remember: the goal isn’t just to manage performance—it’s to manage yourself. The difference could be profound.