Performance review is a dreaded phrase for all employees. It can be overwhelming to discuss with your manager your strengths and weaknesses as perceived by your manager. It can even be worse when you are asked to do a self-assessment
Companies, nowadays, ask employees to do a self-appraisal and submit it before a formal review with their manager. For employees, this can become an ordeal. Doing a self-assessment can stress out a person. If they are overly positive it may seem too selfish or removed from reality.
But if you list out too many shortcomings then you may sow doubts or give additional factors that the manager may not have thought of. It is important to balance this and get it right so that it reinforces your credibility and increases your impact.
Here are a few suggestions to get your self-appraisal right and realise the benefits.
Separate yourself from your work.
The greatest barrier to self-appraisal is when you think that the assessment is about you as a person when it is an assessment all about your work. Moving into this mindset may be difficult but it is necessary to separate yourself from your work and make a judgement of how your work has been during the period under consideration.
When you start your self-appraisal, Focus on your work rather than what you are. When you focus on your achievements, think about the work done rather than yourself. move away from using I in your assessment. This will make it easier to view your work as an external person rather than yourself.
maintaining a separation between yourself and your work will help you see your work as a third party would and also observe what went well and what could be improved. Bringing this mindset into the feedback process will lead to an assessment of your work rather than yourself.
Do not shy away from self-criticism.
Ensure that your self-assessment is well-balanced. When you list down your achievements think of how they could have been bettered and what steps you can do to optimise your work. this would increase the confidence of your manager and judge you as a person capable of making sound decisions.
Describe both sides of your work. Do not just list your wins. Include work or projects that were not completed or were abandoned and what you learned from the mistakes or failures. While discussing your achievements, including the challenges you faced, what were learnings and how you will approach it differently the next time.
By offering a fair assessment, you help build credibility and show that you are willing for guidance from your managers or even peers.
Focus on the outcome.
Another common mistake that people make is to look at their work from their perspective. It is hard to get the full picture of what is the real happening. This way you are more likely to describe your effort.
But, you should try to look at it from the people who are impacted by your action, both within and outside the organisation. Think about how it affected your customers, clients, and communities and how it affected the image of the organisation in the eyes of the customer.
Use the answers to show how your wins helped your stakeholders. you will also learn how you could serve better your stakeholders in future.
When you look at your work from another person’s perspective, it will help you understand how your manager views your work.
Ask & Adjust.
The most important step occurs after the review. Be open to suggestions for changing your method of working. Once you submit your self-appraisal, expect your manager to have additional feedback for you. Act on the feedback and make changes in your work as recommended. The next time during appraisal include these in your accomplishments list. This will show that you act on the suggestions received.
When you are asked to do a self-appraisal, use the opportunity to improve your work, and your skill sets. Learn to ask, listen and act on the suggestions. this increases our credibility as well. You no longer need to be defensive and justify your actions. this would serve you well in your career growth path.
Acing Your Self-Appraisal (Even If It’s Your First)
by Liz Wiseman
HBR 2023/03
R2G 