Preparing for your End of Year Review?

Preparing for your End of Year Review? Now’s the time to get started!

If you’re like many people in the workplace, it’s likely that sometime between October and March, you’ll be on the receiving end of your Annual Performance Review. I haven’t found too many people who love that process, whether they are on the giving or receiving end of it.

And yet, we continue to do some version of the Annual Performance Review, although a few years back many organizations tried to discontinue them in favor of quarterly performance conversations. Regardless, one way or another, your performance on the job will be evaluated, for better or for worse.

In July, we published an article in this newsletter Read this before your mid-year review . It’s a great article to get you started with the basics of preparation.

We’re going to take it up a notch. This is the article that gives you the intermediate to advanced skills for preparing for your annual performance review, or any other high-stakes conversation that you have about advancement.

1.???? Do you know what your leader and their leader are saying about your potential for advancement? When promotional conversations are happening about who’s up next, are you on that list?

Most people don’t know the answers and they are reluctant to ask. Not knowing what people/sponsors are saying is NOT the answer. You need to know, and to know, you usually have to ask.

How it sounds: “Hi (manager’s name). I was reading this article on LinkedIn, and they noted that most of us really don’t know what is being said about our performance. You know, the real truth about what gets said behind closed doors (or in private Zoom/Teams rooms). And I realized that I really don’t know what gets said, or whether I’m perceived to be ready for promotion. Would you be prepared to have that conversation today, or do you need some time to gather thoughts on what’s being said, what I should keep doing, and some things that I might need to do differently?” Then wait for the answer. If it’s a “not today, but later” response, get that date on the calendar before you leave the conversation. If it’s “I’m ready now” then get your note-taking tools ready and be ready to ask questions. The more direct you can be in these conversations, the better.

Not knowing the real truth means you can’t prepare, either to address any derailers that are happening, or to capitalize on things that you are doing really well. Not knowing the real truth means that you are at the mercy of others, and that they are writing your story, not you.

2.???? Do you know how your leader and their leader gets evaluated? And why should you care?

If you know what’s important to your leader and their leader, you can prepare accordingly. Let’s say that you work in a really metrics-driven organization, but metrics aren’t your strong suit. Make time to take a class or find a mentor that can help you understand the metrics that drive the business you’re in. And then, speak in those terms with your leader. If their promotions and raises are driven by the metrics that measure performance, yours are too, whether it’s obvious or not. Speak the language of the leaders in your organization. As a mentor told me years ago, you get invited up.

When you know how your leaders get evaluated, you can position your work as supporting them and the larger goals of the organization. Many people don’t know how to do this. We tend to want a checklist of things that, once checked off, get us promoted. And it’s not that simple. Many more things go into a promotion, especially the higher you go. And regardless of whether you’re seeking a promotion or not, your evaluation becomes less of a checklist and more about how you supported company goals, the higher you go.

3.???? Make it easy to say “Yes!” to approve your rating or promotion.

?Most of us think it’s the leader’s job to know exactly what we are doing, what we’ve accomplished, and what we need to do next. Now multiply that by all the people on your team, add in business planning, budgeting, analyzing business trends, marketing, sales, operations, training… all the things that leaders are responsible for. The details about you and your achievements get lost in the shuffle.

?The best thing you can do for yourself is take great notes throughout the year on your accomplishments, how you supported business goals, how you took on extra responsibility, how you trained others, and anything additional you picked up that wasn’t part of your role or job description.

?Then, write your self-appraisal honestly and professionally, and make it easy for your leader to approve. When you make things easier for your leader, you ultimately win. If you get entrenched into the idea that “well, they should KNOW what I do all the time!” you run the risk of them having to work really hard to get you that raise or promotion. And depending on what else is happening in the business, you may lose.

?Careers are definitely a marathon, not a sprint. Taking a long view, making it easy to promote you or give you the raise that you want, pays off for everyone.

?And here is more good news – these tips work regardless of whether your organization still does formal review of performance or not. Good luck, and now go document how awesome you are!

More Resources as You Prepare....

Laurie Battaglia and the team at?Aligned at Work ?? work with leaders to create workplaces of the future. They bring great leadership together with diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, and meet rapidly changing needs to today’s and tomorrow’s workforce. Aligned at Work ? specializes in Diversity/Equity/Inclusion/Belonging Consulting and Training, Aligning Leadership Teams, Strategy Retreats, Aligned Leader? Training, Executive Coaching, Team Coaching, and Career Coaching.

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