Is your Performance Review looming? Let me share a little secret with you about how to answer questions in your review.

You might be expecting me to say something like “Honesty is the Best Policy.”

And you know what, you would be right. But it would be trite of me to leave it there.

The best way to answer Performance Review questions is to take a ‘holistic approach’.

So What’s a Holistic Approach?

I’ve written, many times before, that your Performance Review/Appraisal is about YOU. This is a very true statement. But perhaps (in this context) a bit misleading, because YOU work in an organizational context of other people.

If all you were to do, when answering questions from your reviewer, were to talk about how your work and performance impact and benefit you only, you’re missing a trick. Because people are inherently selfish – they don’t really want to know about you – they want to know about themselves. Their ‘listening’ filters are continuously scouring your answers for information that they can understand in their own terms… or even for information that benefits themself, as opportunities or for vanity’s sake.

So we must use this to our advantage, and of course, we must do it with integrity, too.

When I use the term ‘holistic’, I refer to viewing what you do, and the value you create through your work, in a wider context – a context that includes the people around you – upwards, downwards and across-ways in your organization. They’re your colleagues, direct reports and your bosses. It also considers the business and organization contexts, such as management, financial and strategic.

So when you’re answering questions about your work performance, you must include the people around you, and the business benefit in there too. Here’s what I mean. I’ll use two examples, each with a ‘bad’ and ‘good’ answer.

Example One

Q: Julie, what has been your greatest achievement over the last 3 months?

Bad A: Bill (Julie’s boss) I thought I totally rocked the Acme Associates deal. I used an even better approach to structure the proposal and worked the finances to make it really appealing. I’ll bet the stockholders will be pleased with me!

Good A: Well Bill, we really made great progress when you and I went to see Acme Associates and landed that distribution deal. Our structured approach in our proposal really worked – without it I struggled last time. It was also great to work with Mary (Julie’s colleague) on the finances as we needed to offer a very competitive discount this time around before quarter-end. I’m sure you’re the same in thinking that our stockholders needed some good news.

See what I did in the good answer? Julie didn’t just answer the question by talking about herself, like before. Julie included her boss and a colleague in the answer. And she also included the benefits to stockholders, to boot. Her answer here also included a development point (about using the structured proposal) – something Julie has learned and applied during the review period.

You might also note that I used the word ‘I’ when referring to a past issue or failure in the good answer. This is important as Julie doesn’t want to imply a) that she is devolving a past mistake, and b) that she wants to take the credit for the learning point.

My last point is also deliberate: “I’m sure you’re the same in thinking…” as she is opening up the point for confirmation, or challenge, without directly asking a question. This allows Bill to step in with his own thoughts which can move the conversation along.

During each point made, Julie has answered honestly and considered not just the impact of my performance on herself, but instead she considered the wider impact.

Example Two

Q: So Julie, the general feedback from across the team is that you’re not communicating issues quickly enough. Sometimes with painful consequences. How will you resolve this?

Bad A: Bill – don’t just blame me on that. John and Eva (Julie’s direct reports) were telling me way too late about the issues. I will sort it out. You don’t need to worry about it – leave it with me.

Good A: I know – sorry Bill. I’m working on it. Often I hear about the issues late myself, but I think that’s because I am not making it clear enough to John and Eva at what point they should give me an early warning. I am going to review the procedures with them so that we can build in this early warning system without it causing too much disruption to us. I’ll then come back to you with what I am going to do.

Julie has a problem! In her good answer, she starts out by saying she knows about the problem, and that she takes responsibility for it. Sorry is a powerful word. The problem may be as a result of a combined failing with colleagues, but she doesn’t spread the blame or defend the indefensible. In her answer, Julie discusses a joint solution with colleagues, and acknowledges that a solution must work for everyone involved – not just her. She then reaffirms her accountability for the solution by promising to personally discuss the plan with Bill.

Both examples demonstrate the difference between an individual approach and my recommended holistic approach.

Before your next Performance Review, why not consider how you can answer questions with a holistic approach?

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

We’re almost at the close of 2011, and it’s been quite a year. If you’re like me, then a good rest over the holidays is badly needed. But what next? 2012 can be a GREAT year for us, when we focus on productivity.

I’ve just read a post on the Harvard Business Review blog, Five Things You Should Stop Doing in 2012, and it shares some great tips on how to sharpen up our productivity.

My two favorites are stop doing work that’s not worth it and stop making things more complicated than they should be.

For most people, their annual performance appraisal is due over the coming weeks (is yours?) This is an ideal time to bring up issues connected to the above points.

Over time, some tasks we’re doing lose their effectiveness, because the world moves on, and technology speeds things up (or makes tasks redundant). Often, though, these tasks aren’t reviewed to ensure that they’re a good use of our time. These things might be stock-checks, or regular meetings… you’ll know what you do that isn’t effective.

Use your performance appraisal as a point to ask “should I REALLY be doing this any longer?”

This is a powerful question.

And ally this to the second point. Tasks we regularly perform can become unnecessarily complicated, because the process is inflexible. Such as filling out paperwork that nobody reads, or sending out letters that clog up the mail-room. When a task is ‘new’, our competence in it is low, so check-sums and balances are used to help identify problems. But when we’re adept at a task, we no longer need those checks and balances.

I’m not suggesting that we take additional unnecessary risk; some things HAVE to be done to comply with regulations or policy.

What I am suggesting is you review the effectiveness of every sub-task (like filling out a section on a form) and review whether it really adds to the quality of your product/service, increases profit, or reduced risk.

And it’s OK to challenge policy too, if that policy is ineffective.

This is a powerful challenge.

So use your coming performance appraisal as a way of introducing these questions and challenges. Done objectively, it can be a powerful means of stimulating change, and innovation.

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

Employee Performance Reviews are an essential strategy for staff development. In the ‘old days’ they were done using paper, or (if you were lucky) spreadsheets, but now there are online tools to speed the whole process up and make it work for employer and employee. Here are some of them.

The problem with Performance Reviews, is that they take time. They are an investment. But the cost in time and money has deterred some businesses for fully embracing them as a component of their staff development. In this age though, there is no excuse, as there are some great tools out there to optimize the process and reduce the investment burden.

If you feel that your performance management and staff development processes are cumbersome or ineffective, then some of these really could be for you:

1. Halogen eAppraisal: used by over 1,500 organizations to drive their appraisal processes. Web-based, and it’s known for it’s ease-of-use and flexibility
2. Appraisal Smart: another web-based tool that has ann additional goal-management module to create and manage cascading goals from the very top of an organization downwards
3. SuccessFactors: boasts the ability to identify our best workers and support a ‘meritocracy’ for pay-for-performance cultures
4. Sonar6: a solution that has enjoyed industry awards, with clients across the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and worldwide
5. HRN Performance Pro: with 700 clients with 120,000 end-users. Domino’s Pizza use them, so if your next slice is a culinary delight, then this solution can claim some of the credit!

There are many solutions available – most claim to offer similar features and realize great benefits. Most offer free trials, so I recommend split-testing a handful using some willing guineau-pigs!

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

If you’re a manager responsible for the management, development and appraisal of a team, then you will know what a serious responsibility it is, and, how much time the process takes up. As a manager, my own organizational skills were put to the test and keeping track of notes, appraisals and events wasn’t easy… but I’ve found something that should help us to make the process far more efficient.

I recently landed a freelance job to help a small but growing events management organization to restructure operations and to put in a performance management process. The budget was tight! I knew that managers were very hands-on, and managed their teams from within the trench; managers didn’t want to spend too much time on performance management! So it was clear that some form of automation and guided system was needed in order to build and maintain efficiencies, whilst keeping quality high. The other important factor is that my client is skeptical of marauding consultants on their site (I barely got in myself!)

I broke out my rolodex and called in my contacts who were in the performance management biz, but each solution was either too expensive or too time consuming for my client. So I drummed my fingers…

Then a buddy of mind pointed me to an inexpensive software solution – Performance Now Enterprise. I want to tell you about it because my client was sold on it straight away.

Performance Now Enterprise is a software tool for logging events, tracking goals, providing effective feedback, and writing employee reviews. It automates a bunch of tasks, information gathering, and reporting, and best of all, it produces the final performance appraisal report for you (saving you bags of time!)

It’s features are based around four key efficiency zones:

1. The Performance Appraiser is an intuitive and easy-to-use tool that allows you to master each step of the evaluation process, access job descriptions, and transform observations into valuable feedback
2. Use the Form Designer and enjoy the power to create a performance review system that is relevant to your unique organization
3. A Performance Manager lets you and your managers track and build performance on a daily basis
4. Finally, the Application Administrator gives you centralized security, control, and maintenance of access levels for your managers and employees

My client found that the software makes writing and keeping up with reviews for a large team much easier to manage than one based on paper/documents. It has an easy-to-use user interface. Custom review forms are easy to create, if you already have a company standard (so you don’t annoy the HR department, if you have one).

Performance Now Enterprise is for managers of practically any size of organization, although it probably sells best into small to medium organizations. You don’t need to be a technical genius, either. But like any new piece of software, the first few performance appraisals might take longer whilst you learn the ropes. However, efficiency savings should be apparent within a few goes, and overall I expect it to make serious time and effort savings, allowing you to get on with the important stuff – managing your team.

The great thing about Performance Now Enterprise, is that you can pick it up for less than 200 bucks! Even the smallest of organizations can afford this, and the payback will be soon to realize too.

Buy Performance Now Enterprise.

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

If you’re like me, then you’ll be looking forward to a relaxing holiday season. Not longer after we return to work, we’ll be facing our annual performance appraisal! So not to be caught in the headlights, now is a great time to easily prepare for our appraisal.

The annual appraisal process is, in fact, something that benefits ourselves. It sets an agenda for the coming year for our personal development and our growth. BUT it’s bad timing though (ain’t it?) – right after a time when we think nothing more than enjoying parties and having a good time with our folks.

Well, not to put a too finer point on it, if we begin to prepare now then the appraisal process will feel so much easier (and welcome!) when we get back into the office after the holidays.

And here are some great books that will help you along, and they won’t break the bank too!

1. If you are the reviewer or reviewee during a performance appraisal, then here is a very good book that shares phrases to use. It isn’t just a ‘say this, and then this…’ kind of book, it shows you what phrase-constructs to use in the right context to help make a performance appraisal as effective as it could be: 2600 Phrases for Effective Performance Reviews: Ready-to-Use Words and Phrases That Really Get Results.
2. Performance Appraisal: Pocket Mentor (Harvard Pocket Mentor) is a great little book from Harvard Business School Press, giving you ‘immediate solutions’ to the process. It’s short, sharp and to the point in only 73 pages. What I like about this is the focus on us as the appraisee and it explains how to use the appraisal process to our advantage. Best of all, it helps the reader understand how to avoid the pitfalls in the process in order to eliminate complaints and a perceived lack of fairness.
3. RECOMMENDED: If you’re a fan of the For Dummies series then you’ll love this one. Performance Appraisals and Phrases For Dummies (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback)) typifies the series in a jargon-free, easy to understand run through performance appraisals and how they help us achieve personal goals. It helps our appraisals go faster, more effectively, and (if you engage in the process) you’ll get better results. It includes tips for gathering information and data to support your appraisal and also includes 3,200 phrases to help you articulate yourself well in your performance appraisal itself.

All three books are suited to people of all industries, roles and seniority. Some preparation now will lead to a less worrying time after the holidays!

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

Your Performance Appraisal is a point in time where a) you’re assessed on how well you have done against objectives you have been set, as well as b) it being an opportunity for you and your manager to provide feedback to each other about your behaviors, skills and achievements during the review period. To maximize your Performance Appraisal score, you must achieve the objective measures set by your manager exactly as they were set.

I deliberately laid out my opening sentence into two pieces, ‘a’ and ‘b’. Because ‘a’ (in almost all cases of Performance Reviews) is where your score comes from. The assessment of the apsects of your performance described in ‘b’ are the more subjective, woolly measures that are almost impossible to score, so they are generally aspects of your soft-skill development that you and your manager will work on over time and are not graded (however, they are still important and have a great effect on the relationship between you.)

So the rule of thumb is if you want to maximize your score, then you need to ensure that you’ve done everything as specified in your objectives. Easy, right?

OK, so it’s not that simple, isn’t it? Well it isn’t if the objectives you agreed with your manager are not SMART.

That is, they are not Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timebound.

• Specific – Objectives should specify what they want to achieve, and why.
• Measurable – You should be able to measure whether you are meeting the objectives or not.
• Achievable – Are the objectives you set, achievable and attainable?
• Realistic – Can you realistically achieve the objectives with the resources you have?
• Timebound – When do you want to achieve the set objectives?

Only when your objectives conform to these criteria does achieving them possible, let alone easy.

Just a side note: objectives don’t really serve their purpose (that is, to increase your capability, develop skills, and add to experience, as well as add value to your company) if they’re easy, do they? When objectives are tough – when they stretch you – do they encourage you to build these things I described here.

Each of these factors are critical (without one of them, the objective is actually impossible to achieve), although I think that the most important factors (in terms of a starting point) of a SMART objective are measurable and specific, i.e. that a target has been specified that can be measured. Let me illustrate with some examples.

Q: Which of these objectives are measurable and specific?

1. Obtain 3% market share of the mobile phone industry by 2004.
2. Increase sales 10% from 2003 – 2004.
3. Survive the hard times the business is currently in.
4. Grow overall business by 15% year on year for the next five years.
5. Increase brand awareness over 2 years.

A: Objectives 1, 2 and 4 are specific and measurable. Objective 5 is questionable – the measure of ‘brand awareness’ isn’t specific, and the amount of increase isn’t stated. Objective 3 is also not specific or has a measure (how is ‘survival’ measured, and over what period?)

Get the picture?

Once you have specific and measurable in your objective, it’s quite obvious what’s required. The other factors (achievable, realistic and timebound) are fleshed out from here. So if your objectives don’t specify exactly what is required, and how it is measured, then achieving them is quite frankly impossible!

Graded Results

Quite often, managers set a scale of graded results in order to allocate a score to your performance. What this does is to set targets for each grading. This will look something like this:

Say you have been set an objective to reduce the cost of errors when keying in data. Your manager wants to reward you on a scale.

0% – 2% error rate: 100% of performance score

2% – 5% error rate: 50% of performance score

5% – 10% error rate: 25% of performance score

10% or above error rate: 0% of performance score

When objectives are set using a scale of graded results, it is very clear what you are aiming for, and what the reward is. Providing you have the ability to control and influence the results, (and that it is clear how error rate is defined) then these are SMART objectives. Right?

Are your objectives SMART?

So to maximize your Performance Appraisal score, you have to know without any ambiguity what you need to do to achieve a maximum rating. So it comes down to the SMARTness of the objectives.

If they’re not, then will you know what to do to gain maximum results? The answer is certainly No.

So what will you do?

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

If you perform Performance Appraisals with your team, then it’s likely you have needed to give someone ‘bad’ feedback. But did you follow through? Giving someone a bad review is not easy (it’s hellish!) but it’s also very necessary if we have the reviewees best interests at heart.

Have you ever had a bad review yourself? I don’t mean the review process itself was clumsy or mis-used, but I mean ‘bad’ in the sense that it didn’t give you good news? If you have, then try putting yourself in your manager’s shoes, and consider how they felt about giving it to you. Do you think they enjoyed it? In 99% of these situations, the answer is NO.

This is a big challenge for managers, do you agree?

Giving someone a ‘bad’ review is an arduous process. It’s definitely one of the hardest things to do in a manager’s life. It’s no surprise that some managers avoid it entirely.

Would you give one of your team a bad performance review?

So far, I’ve used the word BAD. And I have also put the word in ‘quotes’ too. Because, I don’t believe that giving another human being feedback that helps their development intrinsically bad. Do you?

The reason we might think it is bad is because it is difficult, and cause a painful emotional uprising.

It is human instinct to avoid pain. We avoid it consciously and sub-consciously. Pain isn’t just felt physically, it is also felt mentally, and it is the mental pain that is often the worst. Knowing we will inflict mental pain onto somebody else, especially if we care about them in the context of being a colleague, we will be tempted to avoid it! I have, have you?

But here’s the thing. By avoiding providing painful feedback during a performance appraisal, what are we doing? We’re creating the environment for our colleague’s undesirable behaviors to continue. If he/she feels no pain, then they won’t change. Change only really comes with pain.

Equally (and this is the hard bit) if we avoid giving the painful feedback, we’re avoiding agony for ourselves as the appraisers…

[What if they hate us? What if they cry? What if they resign and it looks bad on me? What if they sue?]

If we don’t go ahead with giving the feedback then we don’t gain experience and get better at it. We create a lose:lose situation. Who wants that?

So isn’t a ‘bad’ appraisal really a ‘good’ appraisal if it helps the appraisee understand the necessary behavioral changes they need to make? And the art of making it a GREAT appraisal is to learn how to help the appraisee cope with the information/feedback they receive, and know what to do with it.

It takes practise. Lots of it. And perhaps some coaching and mentorship – have you tried talking to someone who has ‘been there’ and ‘done that’ in this?

You could also try picking up a great book I discovered that shares some strategies, backed up with real test cases, in how to perform ‘great’ reviews, whether they’re grade A or grade F results. The book is How To Say It Performance Reviews: Phrases and Strategies for Painless and Productive Performance Reviews by Meryl Runion and Janelle Brittain. It also provides tips and insights into preparing an agenda, monitoring body language, and developing the right tone of voice. Why do I like this book? It is written by people who clearly understand the nature of the pain on both sides. It is supportive – it doesn’t tell us how to do the obvious, it shares insights into the psychology of the situations we face and how to find the best approach to ease the pain.

Will you be giving someone a ‘bad’ appraisal? Then this book might be just what you need to make it painless.

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

The Key Influencing Factor in your performance at work is not your skills, your status, your experience. It isn’t even who you know, or who knows you. All these things are important, but there is something fundamental that is required to make all these things attain value. It is your Self-Esteem.

When we feel that we are adding value to our organization and that the value is created as a direct result of ourselves and the collaboration with colleagues, we have a healthy self-esteem. There is a direct link between the results of our performance review and how highly we believe that our work has caused good external results (sales, volume, customer satisfaction, etc – the things that our objectives are measured against).

So it’s no wonder that the people who are seen to perform the best are the people who appear happy, confident, charming and relaxed.

Get this: Some people think that it is the reward of great performance that creates these things in people. But it is the other way around – these things create the great performance.

In fact an acquaintance of mine who considers himself to have experienced some bad luck lately looks at my own personal success and reward as falling into my lap. He is a skeptical, generally negative person who tends to see the bad in things before he looks for the good. He sees the happiness I exhibit being a result of my rewards (e.g. bonuses). It has been tough to explain that one leads to the other, but not in the way he thinks.

Perhaps he is right, to a certain extent (what do you think?) My belief in myself and high self-esteem must have started somewhere – perhaps by encouragement from my parents or a mentor – but the difference between me and him is that I deliberately shift myself into a ‘virtuous cycle’ where every success creates further opportunities to grow, learn and take on new challenges with confidence. My self-esteem is both a cause, and an effect!

I was looking around to see what is available for people who have a nucleus of enlightenment that their own self-esteem can be a cause and effect too, but are not sure how to develop it. The ACE Your Performance Review Crash Course doesn’t really help in that space.

Instead, I found an excellent course on DVD by Jack Canfield (author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, and The Success Principles) who talked me through his ‘proven recipe’ to approach the building of self-esteem. I was on the road for a few days, so I whacked it onto my iPod and off I went. I was totally engaged – mostly because it shares real stories from real people – so it’s easy to relate to it. Especially as Jack Canfield is humble and down-to-earth. There isn’t a shade of consultant-speak (which I abhor!)

It is very inspirational for people on all stages of their enlightened journey.

If you’re ready to take your journey, this is what you’ll learn:

• BUILD YOUR SELF-ESTEEM HIGHER THAN EVER
• CHANGE YOUR RESPONSES TO CHANGE YOUR OUTCOMES
• TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES
• CREATE A VISION AND FIND YOUR PURPOSE
• CREATE MORE BALANCE & LIVE A MORE FULFILLING LIFE

Perhaps the short statements above don’t do it justice…

Jack Canfield – Peak Performance Principles – How to Boost Your Self-Esteem and Discover Your Purpose – Personal Development DVD Training Video

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

I recently launched a brand new blog dedicated to your performance review: ‘ACE Your Performance Review‘. Here is are some great articles that will really help you ACE your performance review and become a superstar in your workplace.

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

A colleague asked me yesterday why I put so much importance and value on performance management and my performance review. How did I answer?

I gave my ‘elevator pitch’ to her and answered the question, but it did spur me to review my reasons, because I felt the pitch wasn’t complete. I get much more out of my focus on performance now, since I wordsmithed my pitch in my head. My pitch was:

My performance is important to me because it’s how I deliver the best value to our organization and recieve rewards. When I acheive my performance targets, I know that I am contributing to the success of our organization in alignment to the organization’s corporate objectives.

So I reviewed my reasons and share them below:

1. I Achieve My Full Cash Bonus

I’ve put the financial reason first, because that’s what most people want to hear! By achieving my desired performance levels and delivering my objectives (well, I strive to totally ACE them) I meet the criteria set by my organization to receive my full financial incentives.

In most organizations, there is a performance-related financial incentive: often annual bonus (or Short Term Incentive Plan, or STIP), but frequently on salary, too. Other longer-term incentives (often called a Medium Term Incentive Plan, or MTIP) are contingent on sustained achievement of personal performance targets.

2. Demonstrable Track-Record of Achievements

When I persistently achieve my performance targets, I am building up a track record of high achievement which is referrable during performance appraisals and application for promotions. It’s also a valuable asset when seeking a good reference.

It’s not just what is on paper or my record on the HR system – in most organizations, the results of performance appraisals and our track-records are reviewed by our manager with their peer group (often to ensure fairness is applied across the organization), so it works as an excellent profile-builder in senior management tiers.

In addition, possessing a documented history of your achievements (recorded with their targets/success criteria and how they were measured) can be fed into your resume. Resumes work best when they talk about quantifiable achievements, rather than responsibilities or tasks.

3. Corporate Responsibility

When we’re set objectives and goals, it’s generally because the organization as a whole requires them to meet it’s objectives (generally set by stakeholders). If we fail, the organization will fail unless remedial action is taken – normally by spending money, or diverting resources, or taking extra risk.

Therefore we have a huge responsibility (no matter what level we are at in the organization) to achieve our objectives and performance targets.

As IT people, we are at the helm of a massive investment. We’re here to make computers do lots of valuable work. So if those computers are not operated, configured or designed properly, the organization will fail to meet it’s objectives. And fail big time. So whether you’re involved in the design, build, configuration, operation or management of IT equipment your actions and decisions (or lack of them) can have a massive effect on your organization. This is why our performance is important.

4. My Relationship With My Boss

I do my job to make my boss successful. In turn, my boss’s job is to make his boss successful. And so on. So when I achieve my objectives, I am helping my boss achieve his. This is good for our working relationship – it fosters trust and respect between us.

Goal-alignment also encourages a stronger relationship between us – when our goals are aligned we’re both working to the same objective, which creates co-dependence and the need to work closer together. I make a specific point of ensuring that the objectives of my boss are reflected in my own, and make corrections if they’re not.

Want to know what happens when goals aren’t aligned? 5 Reasons Why Your Boss Hates You.

5. I Am A Role-Model In My Organization

This isn’t a statement from a big-head (is it?) but all organizations need role-models and heros to show how it should be done. You will find role-models right the way through your organization if you look for them, and they’re not always in the obvious places.

It’s important for our colleagues to not just understand the theory of their work, but also see how an expert does it. By focusing on my performance I give others an example of how the work should be done, allowing them to emulate me if they choose to. Of course, I have my own ‘style’ – not everyone agrees with the way I do things – but that’s OK, they don’t have to see me as a role-model.

Anyone can be a Role-Model. It’s not an exclusive right of senior management and leaders. There is a responsibility that comes with the role; a role-model has influence over those people who follow him or her. It’s this aspect of being a role-model that I enjoy the most – it keeps me honest, and sharp. If my actions and behaviors don’t just have an effect on my own performance, but also that of others, I am forced to be more deliberate, less irrational and very much more considerate than if I was a sole-operator.

6. I Become An Expert At Goal-Setting and Goal-Achievement

I don’t underestimate the value of being a seasoned expert at goal-setting and goal-achievement. It’s a meta-skill I’ve developed through constant practise. By itself it means nothing – it won’t pay the bills – but when I apply these skills to my objectives I am much more likely to ACE them.

When I am set new objectives and performance targets, I go about breaking them up into short-term goals (weekly), measuring results, and learning from them. It’s a pattern I evolve and iterate over. You can do the same, it doesn’t take special knowledge or skills to start – just begin and continue and your skill will develop over time.

7. Motivation And Confidence

A direct result of reason #6 is increased motivation and confidence. Achievement feels good, and in turn it gives me extra motivation and confidence to achieve the next goals and targets. Success breeds success! It becomes an ever-increasing circle of growth.

Don’t believe me? Well set yourself a small goal (no matter how small), and achieve it – just go for it. How do you feel afterwards? It feels good right? Now set yourself a slightly more challenging goal, and achieve that. How do you feel now? I expect you feel even better, and motivated. This is the effect I am talking about. Now scale this up towards your annual objectives… it’s no different in its application.

So What Is My Elevator Pitch Now?

The essence of an elevator pitch is that is can be given in 30 seconds or less, so how do I boil down these reasons to just a few words? I’ve given it my best shot…. see what you think!

My performance is important to me because it increases my influence, it enables me to achieve my career and financial goals, it improves my relationship with my boss and my team, it also increases my competence in achieving new objectives, and in turn it enhances my confidence and motivation to do it all again.

Bit wordy? Fluffy? Or spot on? What is your response to this elevator pitch?

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

I was with a group of 126 recently appointed managers and we were talking about our relationships with our boss. I just love it when people begin to talk about the subjects that matter to them.

The group shared their thoughts on how they have suffered from bad relationships with their boss, and more to the point, how their relationships turned sour in the first place. It was such an interesting (and enlightening) conversation that I am sharing with you what I learned.

So I discovered the 5 reasons why your boss might hate you (although there maybe more, these are the biggies)

You are a Threat

If your boss believes you pose a threat to their job then they could turn nasty. If you walk around with a halo on your head (put there by your peers, or even your manager’s peers or superiors) then this could be perceived as dangerous to your boss.

This goes beyond the belief of your boss that you are after their job. By building up a strong profile inside your organization, which I fully recommend, it is likely that you a pedestal is also being built underneath you. If your profile creates support and sponsorship by senior members of your organization, then the likelihood of being knocked off is reduced, but there always remains the potential of being sniped off by a jealous boss.

If you suspect that this is the case, then you have a choice – continue as you are and live with the glory and the threat, or share your halo with your boss by ensuring that they always get 10% of the credit. (Number is arbitrary!). You do this by always mentioning their support and guidance as you achieve greatness.

You are Too Political

Politics is a banner of many behaviors, but roughly I am suggesting that your manager may get pissed off with you if you don’t consistently align with the truth and behave like ‘all things to all people’. Politics has its place, but over-emphasis on truth-economies can create distrust between you and your manager. Think about it: if they see you as a skillful player with your peers, then what do they read into your relationship?

If you’re in a politically charged environment (despite best will, this does happen) then it’s always best to disclose your political game plan with your boss. Even if they don’t play too, at least they know what you’re trying to achieve. Create a version of the truth that you both align to and will work together to achieve. Personally, I prefer work without politics, but if you must engage in politics then it’s important to have the support of your manager.

You are Not Political Enough

The flipside to the above, and probably a more likely situation. The higher you climb the pole, the greasier it gets.

Your manager may be playing many angles and operating in grey-areas to achieve an outcome… only for you to come along with an honest and transparent communication to destroy their game-plan.

My feelings towards this are clear – this is your manager’s fault and if they don’t involve you in the game (or at least tell you where the goal-posts are) then that is their problem. Nevertheless, your lack of awareness, or refusal to play, can build up bad feelings which are likely not to be expressed. Your boss’s hatred of you will seem irrational and may be sensed but not directly manifested.

There isn’t much you can do in these situations. Sometimes, a direct challenge might work but the same political behavior will be applied in your manager’s response.

Lack of Rapport

Rapport is the X-factor in a relationship. When two people have rapport, they get along very well and the relationship flourishes. This happens when you and your manager perceive situations, and people, in similar ways and you make similar decisions and judgments based on that perception. Communication is effective. There is cohesion. It’s a foundation of trust.

What about the lack of rapport? The opposite of the above is true. Relationships die at the point of inception when two people can’t communicate effectively or agree on anything. When two people have two parametrically opposite personality traits, then building rapport is almost impossible. If you are a positive person, but your boss is negative, then it will be tough. If you are introvert, but your manager is extrovert, then it will be tough. Get the picture?

I don’t recommend trying to be a person you are not, in order to overcome this. You will come unstuck at some point, and to be frank, you will be miserable and stressed. The best way forward, when faced with this problem, is to just keep working at it. A lack of rapport will diminish over time providing that you and your manager are trying to achieve the same thing. It will be a bumpy road – so expect that – but eventually it will smooth out.

You Don’t Do What Your Manager Expects You To Do

Have you become upset when a mechanic didn’t fix the problem with your car? How about when your credit card company didn’t switch off payment protection, even when you ticked the option? It’s the same when you don’t do what you said you would do. Your manager gets pissed.

In modern organizations, strategic goals are cascaded from the most senior executives to junior employees. Your manager’s objectives are dependent on you achieving your objectives… and so on. If you don’t achieve your goals, your manager doesn’t too.

Worse still, your manager’s reputation can be drawn through the mud. Your failure could be a direct hit on your boss’s credibility. If this failure is caused by forgetfulness, or bad judgment, or incompetence then you can expect your manager to be upset with you. Persistent failure like this can lead to total hatred!

A more dangerous ground to tread on is when you’re going hell for leather for a goal that is different to the one your manager expects. It’s dangerous because the point of realization that your expectations are different is towards the end of the project or assignment. You might get into this situation if you and your boss haven’t built rapport.

This situation may be a deliberate coup by your manager if they’re playing political games or if they perceive you as a threat. Unless your objectives are clearly understood in the same way between you, your manager has a ticket to call foul at any point.

Truth is, managers rarely resort to these shenanigans, but much more common is a surprise moment a long way into an assignment when both of you realize your mistake of a difference in expectation. This is why it’s vital that you and your manager agree specifics, with little (or no) room for different interpretation. Especially so if your performance management, and your bonus, depends upon it.

I believe that total alignment of expectations is the only way to avoid pissing off your boss, and indeed achieving what they expect from you. I recommend you take a look at your current assignments now and check with your manager that your intended output is what he or she expects.

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

Announcement:

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Find out what’s in the lessons in this course for free by downloading the Course Overview booklet (PDF) right now using the link below. This book shows what is in each day’s Course Book, and what subjects are covered each day. It gives you a flavor of what you are about to embark upon!

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©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

‘Performance Review’, as a search phrase, accounts for over 60% of search-engine traffic to this site. A big topic for many people! Performance Reviews are a hot topic during this recession. Why?

I contacted 50 readers and put that very question to them. What was the answer?

The consensus – a lot of people are nervous about losing their job, and high performance is seen as a means of staying at the top of their game, and (in secret) staying head and shoulders above their peer group. So it seems that excellence in performance is top of the agenda for IT Professionals whilst the economic future looks uncertain.

So to recap, here are all my recent articles on Performance Reviews, consolidated for you pleasure.

• 6 Powerful Questions To Ask In Your Performance Review

• 6 More Powerful Questions To Ask At Your Performance Review

• 10 Performance Review Affirmations

• 10 IT Manager Performance Review Affirmations

• How To Improve Your Performance With 8 Weekly Events

• Make Your Next Performance Appraisal ROCK!

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

PLEASE NOTE. FREE PRE-REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED!

Doors will be open for this course soon. Subscribe to my RSS feed to here the instant they’re open.

Great News! Achieve your Full Bonus with my Brand New and Totally Free ‘ACE Your Performance Review Crash Course.’

Don’t take any chances with your important event! It is now open for pre-registration.

*** Pre-registration Closes on March 1st. After then, this course will be only available to paying customers at $39! ***

On March 2nd ’09 , a five-day course (Monday – Friday) begins and you can join it for FREE. It’s open to anyone. With this course, you will:

• Learn what Performance Reviews are REALLY about
• Prepare for your Review so that there are no gaps
• Discover what you need to say and do to really ROCK during your review
• Learn the ‘Secret’ buttons to press with your manager
• Leave your Review feeling confident of Full Marks (and a Full Bonus)

How does the course work?

Every day during the your course week, you’ll be sent a short course-book with a new subject to practice and learn. But No Tests! You don’t even need to go through the course at this pace – it’s up to you. The books contain practical guides and hints about the subject for each day. They’re suitable for everyone, whatever your level.

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

Ah.. Your Performance Appraisal (or Review). A time for reflection on past performance and discussion about how to do better, with less. A time for exploring new avenues and ideas. It’s a time for creativity and construction the future with the art of the possible. Yes? No? Or is it a humdrum activity ‘done’ to you twice a year where you receive arbitrary scores for doing stuff?

For 90% of people I talk to, it’s the latter. This must be frustrating – I mean – a constructive performance appraisal can yield so many benefits for the employee and employer alike, but aren’t they squandered to become a box-ticking and naval-gazing activity. Yes, for those 90%. Is there a way to make your performance appraisal constructive and creative without breaking the process our employers have invested heavily in, and are so proud about.

You know, I think there is.

The key is in our preparation, and execution . The core purpose of a performance appraisal is to assess our achievements and behaviors in order to learn how to adjust and perform better in the future, and often to judge the ‘reward’ – that is – bonus, payrise or other benefits like promotion. It’s an important event!

Get this – most of us (me included) have looked at our review as an opportunity to be criticized and judged, which means we behave defensively and erect a wall of steel around us. We don’t use it to construct a possible future and identify the opportunities for us. When I thought like that, guess what, my reviews resulted in mediocre-to-poor outcomes.

When I experienced lacklustre result after lacklustre result, I consulted a career coach. After several consultations, I understood the problem. The cause wasn’t about the attitude of my boss, or that I was the victim of some malicious and well-orchestrated smear campaign. It was my own attitude that stunk. Ouch – it hurt.

My problem: I wasn’t using my performance appraisal as a learning exercise and a way of setting future direction that I could influence. My performance reviews were my opportunity to reach my potential.

It was only when I was shown the potential benefits of a review did things change for me. It took a leap of faith to make the change.  When I did, though, I experienced an entirely different kind of review, and observed unprecedented outcomes. Here is what they were:

• When I begun to open up and not feel so defensive, my reviewer began to feel they weren’t on the attack
• When I talked about the future, we didn’t focus entirely on the past
• When I began to admit mistakes or discuss things I thought could be improved, my reviewer began to offer support
• When I showed my humanity, rapport developed with my reviewer
• Hey, when I began to enjoy my review, my results improved remarkably!

The turning point was when I realized that my performance appraisal was a golden opportunity to be constructive. You know what, though, this takes preparation and careful execution. Why? Because your boss might not be thinking the same way.

So here’s what I have learned since ‘seeing the light’ and understanding how to make the review process work for me:

• For an appraisal to be constructive, the goals and objectives that were set need to be understood in the same way as our boss. That is, what the desired outcome is, and how it is measured. If we disagree about what the objective is, and how we measure it, then we don’t have a hope of agreeing a fair result. Solution: before your appraisal, check with your boss way in advance that you have the same understanding of the objectives and how they are measured… and rectify any misunderstanding as early as possible
• Perform a self-assessment before our review – this means we have an internal benchmark to work from. Having no idea of your own means that you have no context to discuss your managers assessment against, or negotiate with if it comes to that. This includes gathering facts, examples, samples of work, and as much as possible, using 360-degree feedback (or another process) to get opinions of your performance from peers, subordinates or other superiors
• I find that a constructive and creative appraisal happens when there is a balance between review (of past performance) and objective-setting (of future performance). Sounds obvious, maybe, but I want to emphasize the importance of preparing objectives we would like to set ourselves. Don’t wait to be given them out of the blue
• I also like to make sure that there is enough time to complete the review. Once again, perhaps obvious, but it’s so easy to use up most of the allocated time reviewing the past, leaving little precious time for a constructive conversation on the future. Remember, this is your review, so if time isn’t being managed then manage it yourself
• Above all, your preparation should include the creation of a vision in which you see yourself performing a more responsible and valuable role, and a roadmap of how you’ll get there. Your vision is really your personal end-goal. You’ll imagine not just what you do or deliver, but the way you will behave (e.g. more confident, less hurried), the relationships you’ll develop, the reward you want to enjoy (cash, but also other recognition like awards), and the value you will create in your organization. Put like that, your boss will certainly buy into it (or offer an adapted version – just as good), providing it isn’t against the strategy of your organization. Talk about this during your review and point out the role of your boss in providing support

So in our performance appraisals, let’s remember to be human, not defensive, open, honest and forward thinking.

I also recommend…

If you are the reviewer or reviewee during a performance appraisal, then here is a very good book that shares phrases to use. It isn’t just a ‘say this, and then this…’ kind of book, it shows you what phrase-constructs to use in the right context to help make a performance appraisal as effective as it could be: 2600 Phrases for Effective Performance Reviews: Ready-to-Use Words and Phrases That Really Get Results

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

Personal performance improvement is often treated like a ‘project’. You identify goals; you plan change; you manifest change; you test change; you review change; job done. For most personal improvements, this works just fine.

But get this – this project work is often de-scoped or de-prioritized. And then it is rushed, just before your Performance Review/Appraisal. How can we expect to achieve great performance and improvements if it isn’t taken seriously?

Here are 8 things you can do on a weekly basis, instead or in addition to your ‘project’.

1. Introduce yourself to at least one new person in your office, each week, and tell them about yourself. Who knows, you may just find someone who can help you or give you a fresh outlook on your challenges.
2. Block off some time at a regular slot each week, and use it for ‘thinking’. Did I just use a dirty word? Allow yourself some thinking time. Ponder new ideas or use it to listen to your thoughts or feelings. Don’t consider this as a waste!
3. Visit your industry websites, and see what is happening beyond IT. Learn more about the challenges of your industry and see what competitors are doing. Why? Well a) it is context that could be important when considering organizational change, and b) it gives you something interesting to talk about when you do (1).
4. Invite someone in your network for a coffee, once a week. Create an informal environment to talk about stuff you wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to in formal meetings or by email. Use this as an opportunity to socialize ideas you might be working on and test them out, or consider different ways of achieving them.
5. Write an update to your boss and your peers. Send these folks some bullet-points or a full-blown update on the things you’re working on to keep them connected or involved. This avoids the appearance of working in a vacuum, and it gives people the chance to offer help or advice.
6. Review your contribution to the business strategy. A great thing to do once a week: it keeps you honest and fresh. It’s so easy to get buried in work without knowing why you’re doing it. And if your review turns up “Don’t Know” then it is time to ask!
7. Review last week’s achievements. Allocate a slice of time to stock-take the results of the previous week. I notice that when I stop doing this I can lose sight of what I am striving for, and it can then feel like I am just going through motions. Reviewing the previous week links cause to effect, and creates an opportunity to identify course corrections.
8. Scan your Job Description and Objectives. It might only take a minute to read through your Job Description and agreed Objectives, and it will be a minute well spent. This action can totally clarify priorities in an instant. It can also lead you to question whether your Job Description is still appropriate. It can result in many things – you’ll know that when you do it.

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

For employees, a Performance Review can be a nervous time. But you know what, it can be for IT Managers too!

In my article ’10 Performance Review Affirmations’ I discussed why Performance Reviews are very important elements of personal development, and most employees in a corporate environment are subjected to them, managers too. What I’ve noticed from interactions with managers in IT is that many don’t feel well equipped or experienced enough to conduct reviews properly.

Just because we are a subject of a Performance Review, it doesn’t mean we can competently conduct them!

I don’t think there is enough training and guidance offered to managers to build their skills and sensitivity in order to conduct reviews/appraisals, in general. Some managers don’t even know why they are conducting them, or don’t buy into the process. No wonder some managers are more nervous (or disengaged) than their employee.

Here are 10 ‘affirmations’ for IT managers to remind and reinforce the purpose of Performance Reviews, and the focus is on the employee… but also on the manager too. Managers who I have observed as gurus in conducting reviews see this as a learning experience and an opportunity to receive feedbackfor themself.

1. Your Employee’s Performance Review is for Feedback, Not Criticism
2. Your Employee’s Performance Review is for Your Personal Development, too
3. Your Employee’s Performance Review is a Learning Experience
4. Your Employee’s Performance Review is an Investment In Your Employee
5. Your Employee’s Performance Review is Your Opportunity to Share Your Vision for the Future
6. Your Employee’s Performance Review sets S.M.A.R.T. Objectives for the Future
7. Your Employee’s Performance Review References Examples of Your Behavior
8. Your Employee’s Performance Review is a Two-Way Street
9. Your Employee’s Performance Review Gives You Confidence to Progress, together
10. Your Employee’s Performance Review is as Important to Your Employee as it is to You

Also, check out this post from Dan McArthy who writes about ‘How to Write a Great Individual Development Plan (IDP)’ on his blog Great Leadership. Dan offers great advice on how to construct a plan to set goals for employee development. The context of the article is in the eyes of the employee, but you can easily turn this into a management tool for yourself.

I find that many managers in IT focus on technology, and set goals according to technical achievement, without addressing behavioral competencies – do you do this too? If so, Dan’s guidance may give you a framework to set softer goals with your employees.

Here is one other link I want to share, if you didn’t see it in my post ’10 Performance Review Affirmations’: Maureen Collins writes about  ‘When You are Appraising Performance Get the Facts Right’, a critical point when performing reviews with employees. If we don’t deal with facts and work just off opinion during a Performance Review, then the Performance Review will certainly shift from objective conversation to defensive argument and makes the whole review pointless.

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

A Performance Review/Appraisal is an important element of your career and personal development. The thing is, many employees don’t really know why they have them, and see them as an opportunity to be scolded or criticized. This isn’t their purpose!

Your Performance Review is a golden opportunity to learn more about your performance and develop new skills. It isn’t always about the ‘tasks’ you perform – they should also discuss behavioral competencies that are essential for working in an organization and as a corporate citizen.

The mindset must be right to get the most from your Performance Review. Don’t look at it as something ‘done’ to you. Consider it as an investment in your future, and to get the most from your investment, you will be required to play ball. And remember, your Performance Review is YOUR opportunity to give feedback to your boss about their performance too – for example you could discuss examples where their support has helped you, or lack of support has hindered you.

Are you clear on the point of your Performance Review yet?

I’ve gathered ’10 affirmations’ below to help remind you what its all about, and burn these into your head before your scheduled review begins.

1. Your Performance Review gives you Feedback, not Criticism
2. Your Performance Review is for Your Personal Development
3. Your Performance Review is a Learning Experience
4. Your Performance Review is an Investment In You
5. Your Performance Review is Your Opportunity to Give Feedback to Your Boss
6. Your Performance Review sets S.M.A.R.T. Objectives for the Future (look it up!)
7. Your Performance Review References Examples of Your Behavior
8. Your Performance Review is a Two-Way Street
9. Your Performance Review Gives You Confidence to Progress
10. Your Performance Review is as Important to Your Boss as it is to You

Similarly, there is a great post on the HRMorning blog which are ’10 commandments’ of reviews for employees. This is a great list to set the scene on what to do, and not do, in your Performance Review.

The only one I don’t agree with in this list is ‘Focus on the small picture’, which advises you to focus only on yourself. I think this is a good thing when reviewing only on past performance, but reviews should also discuss the future and how you will be measured next time. Then, you must talk business and your contribution to it.

Lastly, make sure your Performance Review is about FACT. Anything other than the truth, in a review, makes a mockery of the process. It’s so easy, I’ll be honest, to get emotional in your review, especially when faced with feedback that hits hard (which it can often do). Becoming over-emotional leads both you and your manager to move onto a very different kind of conversation which is probably best described as dysfunctional!

Maureen Collins writes a great piece on making sure your review is about fact, by suggesting you avoid 4 common mistakes.

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

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. “What can I do better that will help my team more efficient?“

2. This next question requires you to understand your particular strength(s).

3. “What impact has my training had on the department and our customers? “

4. Ask “What further training should I take to add more value? “

5. Pose the question “Who do you think is a great role model for me in the organization? “

6. This is an amazingly powerful yet simple question – “Am I making our customers lives easier?”

Good luck in your reviews!

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

Was your last performance review/appraisal enjoyable? Worthwhile? Inspiring? Constructive? It should be all of these things, if done right. But chances are, it wasn’t. And you won’t be the only one. I surveyed over 800 professionals from over 600 companies and discovered that over 70% felt their performance reviews were ineffective. What’s happening?

What the survey confirmed is that many of the people who experience the least satisfactory performance reviews didn’t ask enough questions . There is a strong correlation between the effort put into the review by the employee and their satisfaction.

There is one critical point I want to make upfront. Not all managers who conduct appraisals are experienced in the process. Every manager has their first time, and it takes more than one go to become good at it. The truth is, many new managers are just as nervous about conducting your review as you might be.

Whether you have a manager who is a novice at conducting reviews, or a seasoned expert, the challenge for you is the same: ask powerful questions in your performance review in order to get the most from it .

Here are six questions that will give you a solid base to start from:

Since being developed, these questions have been tried and tested by over 500 professionals. 65% discovered that formulating a constructive set of questions in preparation for their Performance Appraisal resulted in satisfaction evidenced by increased scores from the appraisal in which it was asked. Moreover, 83% then found that the subsequent appraisal yielded even better scores. Why? Well what they found is that they then understood what adjustments they needed to undergo to make a greater contribution to the success of their organization. In other words, they found that they didn’t just do their job better, but they helped their colleagues, managers and reports succeed too.

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.