We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing,
while others judge us by what we have already done.

-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

For most people, the ritual of the annual employee evaluation is about as much fun as a sharp stick in the eye. Evaluations are enormously time consuming, fraught with worry and concern on both sides of the desk, and loaded with implication for salary, benefits and promotion.

So why do we do them? The purpose, of course, is to measure an employee's job performance against a defined benchmark so that the employee can do his job better and grow and develop skills. Makes perfect sense, right? It’s very hard to know where you stand if no one tells you, and we all learn by being stretched, challenged as well as praised and applauded.

But annual evaluations are prey to so many pitfalls that though many organizations allocate enormous time and energy and money to the process, they do not receive accurate information about the talents of the people they employ. Another frequent by-product of performance reviews is that when employees find the process unfair or inaccurate, they discount the information and pull back from whole hearted commitment to their work. Let me share some of the obstacles to successful evaluations that I’ve noticed in a range of different organizations:

1. The employee is blindsided. If your staff member is surprised by the information you share in his performance review, shame on you! It is a manager’s responsibility to communicate all year long so that the annual evaluation holds no surprises. This is the time to talk more deeply about the successes of the past year and the growth opportunities that you need to see the employee embracing, not the time to spring something new. I always suggest managers provide staff with a copy of the review a couple of days prior to the actual face to face conversation. It’s impossible for an employee to read, digest and cogently discuss his review in the moment.

2. Grade inflation. If the organization or division has not clearly defined the criteria around which measuring individuals is based, many managers will round assessments up. This makes them look good (look how well my staff is progressing) and it makes the process of evaluating a lot easier—giving tough feedback is not easy and most people would rather have happy conversations. Some managers consciously rate people higher than the work merits because they don’t want to have to defend lower ratings, deal with grievances elevated to HR or face employee conflict.

3. Managers play favorites. The problem here is obvious: rating is uneven and unfair under a manager who favors certain people. One way around this is to require some form of 360 process (feedback from peers, staff and managers) for each person in an organization. When a manager synthesizes the feedback from across the organization, his evaluation is much likelier to be in synch with truth and it will be much harder fro him to pad the truth.

4. Grey area between good effort and good performance. Effort and excellence are not the same thing and both should be addressed in a review. Hard work from a person delivering fair to middling results presents a tough situation for most managers—the impulse is often to praise the effort and pussy foot around the problem. Speak to both issues, with candor and clarity.

5. Inconsistent evaluation standards among wide range of managers. I do not advocate managers in the same division comparing the way they have scored individual staff members—this inevitably leads to conflicts, flared tempers, finger pointing and bad blood – “how could you give her such high scores when her work is clearly inferior to the guy I gave lower overall marks to.” You cannot micromanage how different managers assess their staff but you can create guidelines. Talk with your managers about the general proportions of true super star excellence versus average performance that might be expected from their team. If 80% of your managers are rating their people ‘Outstanding,’ the word has ceased to have meaning and so has the evaluation.

6. Reviews are not a one-way street. For most of us, receiving a performance review throws us right back to 7th grade and the indignity of getting report cards. It is uncomfortable for one adult to sit in judgment of another and neither side likes it much. Remember to ask your staff member what you can do for her to assist her and what she needs you to alter in order for her to have more success. Turning the tables in this way levels the playing field a bit often discloses important information that you wouldn’t have heard otherwise.

7. Managers are unskilled in coaching, developing their people and in providing timely feedback. Organizations need to make sure their managers are trained and supported in the skills needed to sensitively and effectively correct poor performance. Good managers do this on a daily basis, but so many managers need help here. Managers who look the other way, make excuses for work that is not excellent and avoid the crucial conversations necessary to grow talent aren’t doing anyone a service. Usually the performance reviews these managers deliver is soft pedaled and of low value to either the individual or the company.
On the other hand, managers who are comfortable nudging, shaping, challeging, and developing their people usually find performance reviews a wonderful opportunity to reflect deeply with the individual about what should be worked on next. These are the kind of managers who enjoy extraordinary staff loyalty and develop and leverage the talent below them. They are often a lynch pin in an organization’s ability to retain superior people.

It’s worth taking a good look at the way your organization handles annual reviews. Criteria for assessment need to be selected and standardized across the organization. The natural tendency toward grade inflation must be addressed if true excellence is to be acknowledged, modeled and rewarded. Ratings that are not truthful or fair—even those that enhance performance – end up de-motivating high performers and low performers alike. Talented people are life-long learners. They want to develop new skills, enhance existing strengths and be challenged to stretch outside their comfort zones. An effective review process is a wonderful way to get a manager and a staff member aligned around where the next growth edge lies. An ineffective review process wastes not only time, but a precious opportunity.

The best leaders of all, the people know not they exist.
They turn to each other and say ‘We did it ourselves.’
~ Zen Saying

Dina Silver, MCC, is the Principal of Pegasus Coaching Group.

I specialize in leadership coaching working with senior executives and their teams to create great leaders and high impact groups. I have enjoyed success working with technically proficient people who need guidance in developing the interpersonal skills that are essential to effective and compelling leadership.

My background in the entertainment industry as a feature film and interactive game producer effectively assists me in helping leaders develop powerful executive presence so that ideas and challenging initiatives are met with keen interest and excitement. In order to lead, people must be excited to follow!

I have enjoyed trusted advisor status with high performance individuals, teams and organizations, coaching in high tech, entertainment, banking, and marketing.

I hold a B.A. in United States History from Princeton University. I am a Master Certified Coach (MCC) and hold my credentialing through the International Coach Federation. In addition, I am certified in a range of assessment tools including DISC and PIAV, and am an active member of Professional Coaches and Mentors Association (PCMA) and the International Coach Federation (ICF). I am married, have two teenage kids, two fat black cats and live in Santa Monica, CA.

If you are interested in learning more about how my work may be of value to you and your organization, please get in touch. I am happy to offer interested prospects a complimentary and confidential half hour coaching session so you can take me and coaching for a test drive.