by Cecelia Burokas, Certified Five O’Clock Club Coach
A Positive Marketing Campaign
Why do so many of us get anxious when it’s time for the annual performance review? First, we know performance reviews can have a significant effect on our career in an organization. We also know that they may determine promotions, pay increases and even whether we keep our job. We may find it difficult to separate judgments about our work from judgments about ourselves. Finally, when our performance is being judged, no matter how well we think we’ve done, we are often fearful and insecure about learning what others think and say about us and our work. For all these reasons, it’s a good idea to give your upcoming review careful thought and preparation. In fact, try thinking of it as a positive marketing campaign—a way to highlight your accomplishments and position you for your next job in the company. Many managers are also apprehensive about reviews. Some know they need to give negative or ‘developmental’ feedback and fear they will not do this well:
- “I’m always afraid of crushing someone’s spirit by coming down too hard.” Others are uncomfortable putting judgments about others in writing:
- “I really have to think hard about what to put in writing and what to say in the review meeting.” Some are afraid of getting into an argument about performance:
- “Terry’s very sensitive to criticism and tends to put up his dukes whenever he’s asked about his work. These conversations never end well.”
You can’t control your manager’s attitude coming into a review, but there’s a lot you can do to influence the review and make it easier for both you and your manager. The techniques for making your review a positive experience include great preparation, lots of listening, and asking the right questions.
Prepare
Good preparation reduces anxiety. Some of the following preparation techniques are built into the review process at more progressive companies. If you are lucky enough to work in a company that supports these positive practices, be sure to take advantage of them. If you work for a company that follows a more traditional “top down” approach to reviews, these techniques will help you maintain some influence over the process.
Remember that performance feedback, whether considerate or tactless, is a gift.
Familiarize yourself with your company’s review process. Know the timing as well as the standard procedures and forms used for reviews. You usually can get this information from your manager or a peer, from the employee handbook, or your human resources department.
Take the initiative. When you know performance review time is approaching, assemble a list of your accomplishments over the entire past year. Managers tend to remember only your most recent accomplishments. If you haven’t been keeping an accomplishment and activity log, this would be a good time to start one for the next year.
Focus on outcomes. When you write, include the impact and outcomes of your work, as well as what you did. Frame your accomplishments to show the specific benefits your work provided to your company:
- “I changed the product mix I sold in a way that increased company profits, increased my commissions, and better met the needs of my customers.” Whenever possible, cite numbers you can prove:
- “Redesigned the tuition assistance record-keeping process. Saved at least 20 hours per month of staff time.” You also can note projects you’ve started but are not yet complete, with information on your progress and a forecast of when the goal will be reached. If you are running behind, explain, but do not make excuses. This information should be factual and outcome- oriented.
Include ways that your performance has improved since the last performance review. This is especially important if your previous review had negative aspects.
Send your accomplishments to your manager in advance of the review. This may happen automatically if your company uses a formal self-review process. But if not, once you’ve made your list, send it to your manager a week or two before the review is due. Use your own words, but include a short note saying something like:
- “I know performance reviews are coming up, so I’m sending you a list of what I’ve been doing for the past year. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can provide that would be helpful.”
Think in advance about your professional development goals. If you know what you want, do some preliminary research into development opportunities, both inside and outside your company. This way, you’ll be prepared to suggest alternatives to your manager. This will give him the chance to ask you to do more digging, or give him time to find other options for training, workshops, or special project assignments.
Frame your accomplishments to show the specific benefit to the company.
Prepare yourself to listen. You’ve had the first word already by sending your manager your self-review or list of accomplishments. Let your manager open the conversation. This will give you a chance to gauge the tone and mood and set your expectations appropriately.
Listen and Respond
A face-to-face is always best, but if you work remotely, you may want to suggest Skype or another medium that allows you and your manager to read each others’ expressions and body language.
First, listen to what your manager has to say. A common mistake employees make in review conversations is to respond before listening to everything the manager has to say about an aspect of the review. This can cause you to sound defensive. When your manager begins to talk about your performance, let her finish each remark before you respond. In fact, paraphrase back to her what you are hearing before forming your response. This lets your manager know you are listening, and gives her a chance to correct anything you may have misunderstood. Paraphrasing also ensures that you are hearing what she intended and gives you thinking time to help you frame your response.
Respond positively to critiques of your work. Most managers want their employees to do well. This means that feedback in the form of constructive criticism is given to help you do better. If you agree, be sure to say so.
- “I appreciate this feedback. You’re right—I didn’t realize that the timing of these reports was so important. I’ll make sure my staff submits them on time in the future.”
Send your accomplishments to your manager a week or two prior to the review.
Ask Questions
If you don’t understand any aspect of the feedback your manager gives you during the review session, be sure to ask for more specific information.
- One of my coaching clients was shocked to learn during a review that her manager saw her as “inattentive” in department meetings. Jeanne asked what caused him to see her that way and learned it was her habit of slouching back in her chair throughout meetings. Jeanne saw this as ‘relaxed’ behavior that hid (she hoped) her anxiety about speaking up, but her manager interpreted it as being disengaged. When she learned this, she was able to consciously change her posture in meetings. She also found that sitting up and leaning forward made it easier to speak up when she had something to say!
If you believe the criticism is unfair, state your case calmly and ask for a response. Ask for a chance to collect additional evidence to support your view. This is your chance to show that you take your work—and the feedback—seriously and want to do your best work in the future.
- “Have you had a chance to speak with the other team members? I got a lot of positive feedback from them about the value of my contributions.”
- “I have some additional information about what we accomplished with that project. After we meet, may I send that to you and then set a time to look it over together?”
Ask what you can do to perform even better.
- “What do I need to do differently to get to the next level?”
- “Is there anything I’m not doing now that I should be doing in the future?”
Paraphrase back to your manager what you are hearing before forming your response.
Ask what the company can do to assist with your development goals. You are responsible for your own development, but your manager may be aware of additional opportunities—a training class, team project, mentoring, or working side-by-side with a more experienced associate. If you don’t ask, these opportunities may not come to your manager’s mind.
Ask what you can do to make your manager’s job easier over the next year. Never forget that part of your job is to help your manager do well and look good. You don’t want to sound obsequious, so think about how you want to word this. When talking with someone who is used to the direct approach, “What can I do to make your job easier?” may do just fine. But if not, you may want to frame this request in organizational terms:
- “Is there something more I could be doing to contribute to our divisional priorities?”
- “How else can we put my skills to work?”
Part of your job is to help your manager do well and look good.
Additional Thoughts
If you start to experience strong emotions:
Anger, tears, and expressions of shock rarely contribute to a positive review conversation, but as human beings we can find ourselves on the verge whenever we feel threatened by new information. When this happens, take a ‘time out.’
If you feel safely in control of your words and behaviors, one option is to admit your discomfort, name your emotional state (angry, sad, in shock) and gauge whether you and your manager both are comfortable enough to continue:
- “I have to admit I’m feeling very angry about this because I believe it’s an unfair conclusion. I can continue talking, but would you prefer to wait until I’ve had more time to absorb this?”
Another option is to ask to reschedule:
- “I’m really surprised to hear that and I’m not sure how to respond. I’d like some time to process this. Do you have some time tomorrow to continue our conversation?”
Remember that performance feedback, whether considerate or tactless, is a gift. We can change and improve only when we recognize the gap between what we are doing and what is expected— and performance review feedback provides the information needed to change both the reality and perceptions of performance.
If you believe a criticism is unfair, ask for a chance to collect additional evidence to support your view.
Cecelia Burokas, a certified Five O’Clock Club coach, has directed her own consulting and coaching firm for over fifteen years, focusing on executive coaching, strategic planning, and change management. She has worked with individuals and organizations in manufacturing, energy, finance, and agriculture, and with nonprofits in the arts, health care, education and social services.
Cecelia teaches in Northwestern University’s MS in Learning and Organization Change Program. She holds a BA from Vassar College, a master’s degree from Reed College and completed the program in Client-centered Counseling at the Chicago Counseling and Psychotherapy Center.
Originally from Connecticut, she has lived and worked in Chicago for many years, with living/working detours to Brazil, China, and Canada.
