6 ways to Smash Your Performance Review

Ace your annual assessment with my six “Ps.” Push back A key way to improve your performance review is to avoid signing up to unachievable objectives in the first place. Too many people try to gain favour with their managers by simply saying “yes” to everything they are asked to do. Actually it is far better to push back - politely - against impossible targets and suggest something more reasonable.  If you flag up the problems in a timely way you will look perceptive. But if you try make excuses at performance review time you will seem to be trying to wriggle out of your commitments. Prepare Face it: when you get to your performance review you are going to be judged. But you can tip the balance in your favour by preparing to highlight the good stuff you have done. Don’t leave it until an hour before your performance review to work out what you’re going to say. Instead you should be noting throughout the year in your electronic calendar or your paper journal anything substantial you did that contributed to the objectives you were given at the beginning of the year. Mark the best things in a different colour so you can find them easily. Be passionate Remind your manager of all the good stuff you did in an upbeat and passionate way. Remember your boss might be managing 20 or 30 different people and even if you are an amazing operator it will be hard for them to remember everything. Don’t let the inevitable problems outweigh the positives. Too many people go into their performance review seemingly ready to jump off the nearest available high building. That’s not going to make a manager feel very positive about the review they are going to give you. Use perspective You must try to put yourself in your manager’s shoes. Work out what they need to hear from you in order to give you a great review. You may be particularly proud of your work with a local charity that helped your company meet its Corporate Social Responsibility target. But if your manager has her eye on the bottom line you should tailor your submission to emphasise your contribution to financial objectives. Essentially, your manager needs the information she needs to shout your case to people further up the organization. Solve problems Don’t try to gloss over your mistakes. Make sure you mention the thing that has gone wrong before your manager does. Be honest about why you didn’t meet the objective - but immediately explain what you have learned and what you will do in future to avoid it happening again. By volunteering solutions you can turn your negatives into positives. Forge partnerships No one in a company is an island. The objectives you are set are part of a company wide strategy. So rather than taking everything on your shoulders, recruit as many allies as you can to achieve your targets - and pledge to help others reach theirs. All the best companies have this sort of collaborative environment and if you find people don’t want to help you, you’ll know you need to move on.