Get Ready to Receive Your Performance Review
Are you ready for your performance review? Are you really ready for the good news and the not so good news? And are you prepared to engage your boss in a healthy discussion about you, your progress and career aspirations?
Preparation isn’t always about answering the questions on whatever form your organization uses. It’s more about getting a clear picture of yourself in your role, within your projects, as compared to your peer group, and in how you think you showed up as a contributing human being.
Prep Time
Breathe. No, really, take a few long deep breaths as you start to plan because the very idea of sitting across from your boss, or even worse on a video conference, to listen to the things that they think you’ve done well and not so well is intense. With pen in hand, or fingers poised on your keyboard, take a few deep breaths before you start preparing your version of the past 12 months.
Review your goals. Think about what you envisioned as success and ask yourself how well you did. What was good about your approach to your work?
Review your one-on-one notes from throughout the year and lock in on key dates and activities. Managing your time and project timelines are often places where you can get dinged. Know what happened when and in what order. With so much work going on, folx can get confused. Be prepared to help your boss. Oh, you don’t have notes? Hmmmm…
List the best things about the past year. Name not only the big things but some of the nuanced things that helped advance your work. From this list you can speak about your professional growth.
Conversely, describe where things didn’t go well or you made the wrong decision, how you course corrected and what your learnings were.
List the things you learned about yourself. These may be things that were confirmed for you like how effectively you run meetings. Or, it may be something that you encountered that made you tweak your leadership approach. From this list you can speak about your personal growth.
List the places where you excelled - leadership, collaboration, innovation, etc.
List your moments of “stretch”. Where were the times when you knew that you were learning as you were doing?
List your areas of improvement. What will you concentrate on over the next 12 months and how will you know you’ve moved the needle in the right direction?
List the colleagues you work well with and who support you. Know your squad so you can lift their names with your boss. This shows partnership and the understanding that we do nothing totally on our own.
List the things that are working well in your relationship with your boss and what’s not working so well. Think about how you’d like to share this with them.
List a couple of “aha” moments about the organization where you work. These are things that may have helped or challenged you. It’s these moments that help your boss know that you’re paying attention to the environment and culture in which you work.
List the things that you contribute positively to the culture of your organization. Are you an active member of an Employee Resource Group? Did you organize or play on a company sports team? Did you organize a team/department/organization event acknowledging a specific group of colleagues?
Review your career development plan. Are you planning on a promotion next year? Are there new skills that you’d like to develop? Are there areas of the organization that you’d like to learn more about?
Think about how you’d like to use your employee development allocation in the next year. Is there a conference you’d like to attend? Would you like a coach? Think about what will best serve you and why.
Right Before
Take a few deep breaths.
Listen to a favorite meditation or music before your meeting.
Speak affirmations.
In Real-Time
Assume best intention and be prepared if not.
Resist becoming defensive.
Speak clearly about the facts of a situation as you know them. Be willing to add perspective and clarity.
Be open to suggested improvements and ask questions if unclear. Also be sure to understand exactly what your boss is looking for regarding improvement. What would that look like?
Listen deeply.
Don’t interrupt.
Take notes.
Watch the clock and if you need more time with your boss, ask for it.
This is also a time to talk about your relationship with your boss and understand where they are headed in the next year.
What are the organization’s goals for the next year?
What are your boss' goals for the coming year?
What will the team be focused on in the coming year?
How can you can best contribute to your boss' goals?
What areas will your boss be working toward improving?
Share specifically what you need from your boss to advance your work and ensure the best possible working relationship.
There’s room to do better on both sides of the performance review process. Here’s to you trying better and to the outcome you desire!