Regular Check-ins, Better Performance Reviews

Client – I had prepared a detailed presentation to walk my boss through in the performance review discussion, but she did not give me a chance to present it! She just said I had done ok during the year, and she expected more from me. She dismissed me in less than 10 minutes! It was not a discussion at all!!?

My client was disappointed and felt unheard and unappreciated.

Has this happened to you?

An effective strategy to circumvent a situation like this is not waiting for the yearend review to do a performance conversation. You must schedule these conversations with your boss every quarter, during which you showcase your achievements and how you are working on your development plan.

The human mind tends to remember the beginnings and ends. If you had a bad start to the year or your performance in the last assignment was not as impressive, it may color the recall about you in your boss’s mind. It may also affect your confidence. However, if you have consistently discussed your performance throughout the year, you know you had a temporary blip, and you can confidently present your good work and the lessons learned.

A practical tool to make this happen is to catalog your journey consistently. This document helps you track the impact you have created and showcase consistency and growth in your performance. It enables you to acknowledge yourself and ensure that your performance review is not affected by the recency or primacy effect.

This document must focus on the outcomes of your actions. It must state how your work impacted your stakeholders, team, organization, and clients, i.e.,

- The problems you solved for them,

- The value/impact you created,

- How did your work help your team/organization meet their objectives?

- The evidence to showcase your impact.

- The feedback received from your stakeholders/clients.

- The lessons learned during the journey.

- The competencies for the current and next level displayed/learned.

These data points will highlight the value of your work, your growth mindset, and your ambition. They also indicate that you connect with the purpose of your role.

Be authentic as you create this document. Do not exaggerate. If you achieved something in collaboration with others, acknowledge them and share your specific role in the win.

In addition, if you have used your strengths to help others, raised your hand for cross-functional projects, and done well in them, you have actively enlisted stakeholders to believe in your potential.

In your quarterly performance touch points, as you share your perspective of your performance, seek feedback from your boss on what you must start, stop, and continue to do to become more effective. It helps to develop a good relationship with the boss intentionally.

Finally, take charge of building your narrative and do your best.

I work with leaders to increase their influence, communicate and connect better with colleagues across levels, manage themselves and their teams better, to be visible, valued and rewarded in their careers. If this is on your mind, let’s talk. Click here to plan the conversation.

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