It is or will soon be that time of year – your end review with your boss. You have much influence over that conversation. Rather than procrastinating or dreading the discussion, you owe to yourself to prepare and submit information to your leader in advance of the review. (Unfortunately some leaders do not gather feedback before establishing a rating. This is poor leadership behaviour and all the more reason for you to take the initiative and provide input.)

Prepare

o This is your opportunity to self promote; to share results your leader may not have been aware of. In companies with pay for performance cultures, articulating your results may have a bearing on your rating, bonus and overall compensation.

o It never failed to amaze me when employees told me they were “too busy” to prepare and provide their boss with content for their review.

Don’t mistake activity with results

• You were really busy this year? Find me someone who was not. Being busy has become a badge of honour in North American companies. As a leader, I rewarded results, not busyness.

Provide data – quantify your results.

• E.g. saved $ through effective negotiations; reduced risk; your department expenses are under budgetCite examples and answer “so what?”
• Don’t presume that your boss understands the positive implications of a given outcome. If you brought the project in early, state the benefits, e.g. freed up resources (people and $) to work on other projects; contributed to positive customer perception; saved money on contract staff, etc.

Was it one of your key objectives or KPA (Key Performance Areas)?

• Sometimes people are quite excited about something they invested much of their time in. However, if it was not aligned to one of your KPAs, you may not want to elaborate.
• Similarly, if you had spectacular results in an area that is part of your key goals and/or aligned to your role and responsibilities – highlight it!

Management is not leadership

• Who on your team have you grown/developed this year?
• Who have you mentored?
• Where did you innovate and improve? What were the benefits to the company?

Demonstrate your commitment to the success of the entire company.

• How did your actions, a decision or results benefit your team, the division or BU (business unit) or parts of the organization?
• Show that you operated with the best interests of the entire organization in mind, not simply your own results.

Make it timely.

• Ensure you provide your leader with information well in advance of them finalizing ratings.

If this was useful, share it with others; pass it on to your staff.I work with senior leaders to sustain high levels of performance and achieve breakthrough results to tough business challenges. Interested in exploring the benefits of engaging me for you and your team? Contact me today.

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