What if you think your performance review is bullshit? This is very valid and a common feeling. It weaves and dives into all sort of different areas. The performance review process in general is annoying. The feedback I got was ridiculous. The feedback I received was biased. My manager doesn’t even know what I do so how can they effectively give me feedback (this is a common one the higher you get in an organization. You’ll likely be reporting to someone who has a different area of expertise than you do).
To mindfully and meaningfully approach this emotional area of performance reviews and getting feedback, it’s important to first note some of the realities. Performance reviews are a fact of business, and frequently, when performance reviews aren’t in place, it’s even more difficult to understand a perspective that is different than your own about how your work, impact, and behaviors are being seen by others. Even individuals who work independently take moments to pause and reflect and ask for feedback from others around what is going well and what could be going better. An individual who doesn’t do this, regardless of company status, promotional desires, and a whole host of other factors, is just not going to grow and learn as much as those who are regularly reflecting, even if that reflection result is “I think I should keep doing a majority of what i’m currently doing.” Second, sometimes it is true, you may not have gotten great feedback (or even verbal feedback beyond what was written). Your manager might not see enough of what you do or really understand certain aspects of your role.
But here’s something that I always keep in mind, especially for feedback that I don’t agree with OR where I know there are a variety of contributing factors: Why am I getting this feedback? I often try to think about why I’m getting this feedback through 3 lenses… perception, reputation, and visibility. What does my manager think of the work I’m doing? Why might they think that way? What is my manager hearing? Why are they hearing that? What is my manager seeing? Why are they seeing that?
Perception - Perception is looking at how the work or individual is perceived. What does the manager think about the work they're seeing? Is that perception real? Or is it being influenced in some way? How could the work that's being done, conversations, or other interactions be perceived in different ways by different individuals?
Reputation - This is what your manager (or maybe others... remember from the first blog post, a review isn't only reviewed by a single manager, it is often discussed by other parties as well) might be hearing about you or your work. What's the reputation you think you have? Is it something you want to change (because it might not be, and that's ok!) It is common that individuals have reputations at organizations that either work for them or against them.
Visibility - What is the manager seeing? This becomes even more critical as you have managers with larger and larger scopes of responsibility themselves, or when your scope of responsibility grows. It becomes more difficult for you manager to track what you are doing, what progress you are making, and what your day-to-day looks like. In this scenario, you don't want to give them a play-by-play (especially the higher up your go) but you do want to find ways to provide visibility into the work you're accomplishing so they have a better overall view of it even outside of performance review times.
And now, what can I do with that information to help my manager better understand how I am executing in my role, why, and see if we’re aligned on that. After all, while I want to look good, a large part of what we do is making our manager look good or making the company look good. What are THEY optimizing for? What’s helpful for them in their role? These questions can be used whether your manager is the CEO all the way to a team manager.
Trying to reframe and not getting anywhere? Book 1:1 time with me to help.
