How performance appraisal meetings could be your favourite meetings of the year

In the last 2 weeks I have consulted 2 companies on their performance appraisal system and we had our internal performance appraisal meetings (we call it individual focus areas meetings) so it made me think to put some thoughts down on this topic …

Most of us have experienced the dreaded performance appraisal meetings, where your manager gives you feedback on what your performance score is, what you did well, where you still suck, and what your probable bonus will be (or not be). The worst part is that even though you might have scored well, you still walk out of that meeting feeling somewhat depressed.?

The reason for this is not due to a longing for perfection, or a blind spot that was revealed, or a few unexpected negative comments, even though all of these could be valid reasons for feeling disappointed. The reason for your downcasted emotions is the realisation that after all your hard work you are still short of the mark. Even if you scored high, the bar gets raised even higher and you realise you need to perform even more to feel accepted and valued in the company. You feel depressed because you know you are caught in a never-ending fear-driven cycle where your efforts are never good enough. If you scored lower than expected, you somewhat feel that you are indebted to the company. For some odd reason you feel you even owe the manager something and you work even harder the next quarter to make up for it.?

What if it could be totally different in that these performance appraisal meetings are used as coaching opportunities to coach the employee to be the best they can be. At the start of the year, the discussion is about what the employee envisions as the best possible year in what they want to achieve and develop in. The manager calls forth the brilliance from the employee and helps shape their vision where needed, and checks in periodically to coach the employee towards achieving that vision. Rather than manipulating the employee towards their personal benefit, the manager acts as a career coach of the employee. What a completely different dynamic!?

Don’t you think this could radically change the manager-employee relationship and corporate culture for the better, and consequently produce better results for the company in the long run? I would love to hear your thoughts.

#AspireSouthAfrica #PeopleAndCulture #StrategicAlignment? #LeadershipCapacity #JoyCareDriven #PerformanceFeedback?