Why now is the time to think about your year end appraisal

There’s a saying that if you are behind YTD target on sales in May, you are not going to catch up by year end.

We are now in late July, so…

Luckily, I’m not talking about sales. ?

I’m talking about your development plan. ?So you do have time.?Just.?But only if you act now.

(By the way, if you are super organised, have kept a log of your development and keep an up-to-date brag and feedback file, this article probably isn’t for you. It’s for the rest of us mortals…those who avoid the uncomfortable... and who feel uncomfortable asking for things for themselves, therefore avoiding asking for help or development)

What did you say you would achieve this year in your development and where are you up to with it??

I know what you are thinking: “Ugh no. ?I don’t know.?I haven’t done it. Too much to think about.?Kids on school holiday.?Chaos.?Can’t I do this after the summer?”

No, you can’t.?That really is too late. After the summer is October!

I can help you. Read on.

“Procrastination is the thief of time”

Yeah, I know, that quote is annoying.?And what’s also annoying is that quote is correct.

We know how it goes.?Over the summer, there’s this myth that stuff goes quiet at work in pharma.?It doesn’t.?In my experience, what summer involved was the above country commercial team working like mad to get forecasts sorted, signed off (when much of Europe was on holiday, yikes!), getting everything organised and signed off locally for the autumn season of congresses, while also juggling their own time off. ??Then September was the catching up with things, after that madness.

And then suddenly it is October, quarter 4, and you are looking at year end.

Do you want to be in this position with your development plan in early October?

No, you don’t.

“Oh crap, after the summer is too late! What can I do? “

A surprising amount!

If you are avoiding confronting what you have or haven’t done about your development plan, take some stress out of it by breaking it down into steps.??

Don’t think that you must take BIG actions here, particularly if (secretly) you aren’t sure what actions to take. ?Small steps add up.?And they are less intimidating.?

Your first action is just to work out what the first step will be. (Open the plan and look at it??Tick! Step one complete!)

The next step is whether you can think of examples of things you have done or worked on that demonstrate whatever you said you would develop.

Write them down.

Were there witnesses??Was there feedback? Find that feedback.

If not, go back and ask people what advice they would give you for the next time you do the thing you demonstrated. You will get much more useful information than just asking for feedback.

If you haven’t had the opportunities to demonstrate things (eg presenting to senior leaders, leading a project), what opportunities might there still be this year??

Who can help you to get one of those opportunities and to prepare for it??Who will be there who would be willing to give you feedback?

Add ‘talk to those people’ to your to do list.?With a date to contact them.?

And then, when you get their out of office, add a note in your diary of when they will be back.

What if you don’t feel confident to ask them? Who do you trust who could introduce you to them instead?

Brainstorm this stuff out, on your own, for a couple of hours.?Write it all down, make mind maps, spider diagrams. Whatever works for your brain.

There, now there is a plan that feels achievable!

Next step is to make sure your manager knows what you are doing, because half of advancing at work is the right people knowing about it.?And because telling them will make you accountable.?And MUCH more likely to actually do it. ?

Also, it is literally their job to support and help you!

What if you don’t know how to approach it??

You don’t know what that thing in the plan means:

• ‘executive presence’
• ‘gravitas’
• ‘credibility with senior leaders’
• even ‘confidence’ or ‘leadership’ or 'strategic thinking'?

Jargon.?What does it mean?

Jump straight to the conversation with your manager and/or someone more senior than you that you trust.

And ask the questions:

‘How will you know I have developed this??What will you see? How will you recognise it??And what specific actions should I be taking?’

What they tell you will, hopefully, take you back to the beginning of the ‘what steps to take part’ and you can start that process.

Summary

So, 2-3 hours of thinking time on your own and you stand a good chance of bringing your development plan back on track.

But do it now.?Because after the summer break is far too late.?And now you can at least go into the summer knowing you have got this, when you have got this and how you are going to knock it out of the park.?

So when can you block out a couple of hours this week? And will you?