let’s talk... By: Emily Green E
very day – most likely a dozen (or more) times per day – we look at ourselves in the mirror.
We brush our teeth, we make sure our jackets are lint free, we pat down any cowlicks, we admire, we critique, we squint, we nitpick, we shrug our shoulders, we look for improvement. We take a personal inventory.
Call it vanity, call it self-care, call it whatever you’d like… but looking at ourselves is part of our daily routine.
Imagine if we only looked at ourselves once a month. Better yet – what if we only took a close look at ourselves once a year? Can you imagine going 12 months without a regular inspection on how we were doing and what we look like? Unless you’re one of the Brooklyn Deckers or Hugh Jackmans of the world, that yearly check-in might not be so appealing.
So…why is it that many organizations only have the same inspections annually during performance review time?
Generally each spring (right after our new year’s resolutions have begun to fade), companies across the country perform their annual performance reviews.
We all know how this “process” goes. Generally lasting three weeks (if you can actually get this done in three weeks, let me know your
secret!), both the employee and the manager are put into awkward positions of self-analyzing and critique. Far too often, we’re left with a sense of disappointment.
The annual performance review process can be frustrating. Employees are left to come to terms with the lofty goals they set out for themselves or set for their managers the previous year. Many employees realize that the daily grind frequently throws us off course. Then, they must try and align their comments with what they think their managers want to hear. And, finally, they must make another set of “S.M.A.R.T. ” goals for the year to come.
I’m not free from guilt on this, that’s for sure. I can remember for several years the dread that would come over me when our directors would send out the announcement that the performance review process was starting. I would look at the goals I set for myself thinking how amazing these ideas were. Almost immediately, I start to recount all the reasons why those goals were not accomplished. Usually I fell victim to the buzz of every day work life or just plain forgetfulness.
Would it be easier to forgo the performance review? Would it be easier to do what comes up and create big ideas as we go? Sure. That could work.
But it doesn’t. It leaves us stagnant March 2011 CA Employer 11
– both as a business and as an employee, a person. The review process is set-up to work. You just have to make it work for you!
I ask myself now, “How can I achieve X goal by this time in 2012?” You’ve probably heard this before, but I think if you break down the lofty goals into smaller, manageable, monthly goals you can gain momentum over the course of the year to achieve the bigger goal.
If you’re a manager, help your employees break down their goals into things they can achieve in a few weeks time. Check in with them every month to make sure they’re on track.
If you’re an
employee, suggest this approach to your manager. Be proactive in scheduling check-in meetings with him/her. Show initiative and show progress for each meeting.
By this time next year, the view in the mirror shouldn’t look so bad.
PEOPLE “Mirror, Mirror….”
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