Crystal's Notes - 25th November 2023

Dear Community

Something’s in the air, and it’s not just Christmas!

Appraisal season is upon us and for some of us, this can induce quite a bit of anxiety. I want to share some tips with you that can help you ace that review, no matter if you’re a direct report under, or a manager doing them! 

It is natural to be nervous when you’re preparing for your appraisal but remember that the session is a two-way conversation and you get to share too.

This is what you can do to prepare. Firstly, review your calendar month by month for the past year, and organise your achievements to remind yourself what you have done. Bring that printout to the meeting so that there is a point of reference. You can use my tips on creating this master tracker file in this IG reel I shared earlier. 

Reflect too on what goals you want to set for the year ahead and make sure these goals grow you strategically, and that they are based on the company’s or team’s values. 

For the session to be productive, you need to find out your strengths, learn more about your future, and capitalise on your manager’s perspective. You should also find out about your manager’s priorities as your success is tied to how much your manager feels you help them achieve the team’s goals and their goals. Another thing to find out is what you can do to address any gaps so that you can get to where you want to go. 

To do the above, here are some questions you can ask during your performance review: 

1. What do you see as my unique strengths and capabilities? 

2. What can I do to prepare for the future/ are there any industry trends I should take note of?

3. What are your strategic priorities for next year?

4. What can I do to achieve the goal/ promotion that I want?

If you receive feedback that you perceive as negative during the session, remember that powerful and confident people do not get defensive. Try to shift from defensiveness to curiosity and interest in your growth.

Most of all, I want you to remember that you are powerful, especially during this season of reviews and evaluation. No one can take your power, knowledge and skills away and make you feel “less than” who you are. Your value goes beyond any review conversation. 

For newbie managers doing appraisals, or seasoned ones seeking to augment their appraisal game, I’ve got your back!

Here is how you can conduct a great performance review if you are the boss.

1. Prepare

Make sure you find out how self-aware your employee is. You can do that through asking them to conduct a self-assessment test, or by reading through one.

2. Get feedback 

Get feedback from the people that your direct report works closely with, including stakeholders from other departments as well. This is important even if you have a 360-feedback system, as many times, people are not willing to put their real feedback down on record.

3. Make sure it is a two-way conversation

Right from the start of the conversation, reassure your direct report that the session is not a one-way thing, and it is most definitely not Judgement Day! It is a sharing session for both of you to contribute ideas. This creates a sense of psychological safety.

4. Help people recognise their unique talents and skills

A lot of times, people are not aware of what strengths they have. As the manager, it will be meaningful if you take time to give them some gratitude and appreciate what they often can’t see about themselves. 

5. Accelerate learning 

This means helping people speed up their rate of development by pointing them towards mentors, resources, or training programmes that they could go for. As a manager, your job is not what you can contribute individually. It is about how much value and how much people- potential you can unlock for your organisation. 

6. Talk about performance

Of course you’ll have to talk about their performance, but share with your direct report that only 50% of performance is about what they have contributed. Another 50% of performance is how they did it. Were they collaborative? Were they displaying teamwork? Were they a delight to work with? All the values that they display are every bit as important as the results they deliver.

My friend Tim Bowman, author of The Leadership Letter, shared a few more tips for managers. 

1. Make sure direct reports know what is expected of them right from the start, and that they know they are rated to a standard, and not against each other.

2. Have regular formal and informal discussions about how they’re doing, and if there are gaps, they must be addressed immediately with clear guidance.

3. Rate objectively and subjectively; even if someone was not the top numerical producer, if he or she provided other invaluable contributions, that should merit a high rating.

4. Write each review individually. This means no stock language or using AI to write for you! 

5. Ask for their input before giving the final rating; you might have left out something. 

6. Don’t feel obliged to find a fault or two. If there is none, it is a good thing.

Hope this helps and let me know how your performance review season went!