6 More Powerful Questions To Ask At Your Performance Review
Last week I posed 6 powerful questions to ask at your performance review . I’ve received quite a lot of traffic on this post so I can conclude this is an important and hot topic. Here are six more powerful questions to ask at your review, which delve further into your performance and to inquire about how you can excel in the future:
1. "I see that department x is a big internal customer of our department, so how could I understand more about its contribution to the business and how I impact its effectiveness? " This is a brilliant question as you are directly linking your performance to that of others . It’s a way of prompting for feedback on how you impact specific people and processes across your organization and to gain insight or suggestions on how you might improve your game in that regard.
2. "What can I do more to industrialize the IT department and align towards it? " The industrialization of IT is happening all around us, and it is a key enabler to outsourcing and cloud computing . By asking this question you are signaling your awareness of how the IT industry is changing and asking for specific feedback on how your behaviors can and do enable this change.
3. "What impact has my training had on the department, and what further training should I take to add more value? " I like this question because it avoids any confusion of selfish intentions on training as it links your training to business performance. This question asks for feedback on the value of past training and opens up possibilities for new training in line with business value.
4. Ask "If external training isn’t available, then what else should I consider? " You may have learned (by asking the above question, or on a different occasion) that external training isn’t available to you, maybe because of cost. This is a powerful way to ask for alternatives.
5. Pose the question "Who do you think is a great role model for me in the organization? " to discover who your performance might be compared against. Beware though not to then feel you’re in competition with your ‘role model’.
6. This is an amazingly powerful yet simple question – "What keeps you awake at night? " Asked in the right way, this question asks your reviewer to strip away all but the real important stuff and state the big problems and/or challenges they think are ahead, particularly relating to business survival . I find that many managers are caught off guard with this question and in every instance they have received it positively.
Good luck in your reviews!
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Mae Lyne | Nov 24, 2008 | Reply
Good questions Simon. I will try these at my next review which is due in just under a months time, and I will let you know how I get on. Mae
Mark McClure Coaching | Nov 25, 2008 | Reply
#4 Even if training budgets have been slashed I’d recommend doing the legwork to get a couple of external and internal quotes for the training you’d like to have – along with a 1/2 page written technical and business justification for how it’s going to help your manager “sleep better” at night.
That shows at the very least, initiative, and can count in your favour when all sorts of things involving you are being decided by your boss and others “behind closed doors”.
simonstapleton | Nov 25, 2008 | Reply
@Mae – great stuff! I’d love to hear how the questions work for you.
simonstapleton | Nov 25, 2008 | Reply
@Mark – sure why not! The political kudos this could bring makes it worth asking the question. At times like this, bosses will look for this kind of behavior. Mark – what are your thoughts on coaching as well?
Mark McClure Coaching | Nov 28, 2008 | Reply
@Simon – “thoughts on coaching?”
If a company has a formal mentoring program then it would be worth at least checking it out and see if you can get on it (as a mentor or mentee or both!)
My (slightly biased!) opinion is that the most effective career coaching is when a professional coach is working 1-1 with a client – all the issues surrounding your employer, your future goals and plans etc can be discussed freely and without fear of recrimination.
When it comes to performance and skills coaching then I think that the manager-as-coach (or any effective employee who’s aware of how to apply a basic coaching and mentoring style) can work very well.
Just be careful not to position yourself as someone who appears to be ‘failing on the job’ and in need of remedial skills coaching (some executive coaching is delivered in this manner).