The 7 Steps To A Good Performance Review
Imagine that you came into work at the start of this week and sat down with your line manager for your regular performance review.
Now imagine that as you walked into the room (or entered the virtual meeting room) a light was flashing at you. One that was either green, amber or red.
Now imagine that you instantly understood the significance of the colour that was flashing at you. Green – you are doing really well and on course with all your targets and outcomes. Amber – you are doing ok, but some areas need a bit more focus and development. Red – you are not operating at the level needed, and have a lot of catching up to do.
How do you think this would feel? Possibly quite brutal. But equally, think of the clarity you would have.
This is exactly the system that the GB Women’s Hockey squad used in their build-up to the Rio Olympics in 2016 (which they won). As I detail in my book Staying the Distance: The Lessons From Sport That Business Leaders Have Been Missing, the squad had a traffic light system, where players would be faced with a traffic light as they entered the room for their regular feedback sessions. The light would indicate how likely it was, at that moment in time, that they would be on the plane to Rio. This was critical, as from a training squad of 31 players, only 19 players would be getting on the plane.
A green would indicate ‘You are on the plane’, an orange ‘You’re in contention’ and a red ‘At the moment it is not likely that you are doing enough to get you on that plane’ – with of course appropriate support and direction given accordingly.
Some of you reading this might be thinking that this sounds harsh. But the players valued it immensely. Each of the 31 squad members wanted to be on that plane. And that meant having absolutely clarity on how they were currently doing, and what they needed to do to give themselves the best chance of making it.
How can this translate across into your world? What needs to be in place to achieve similar clarity and success with your performance review approach?
1. Clarity on what the role involves
In order to know if someone is doing well in their role and achieving what they should be achieving, clarity on what their role actually involves is a vital starting point. Too often in organisations roles are not defined well enough; even where they are, too often they are not consistently stated and reinforced. This makes it very hard to understand exactly what that individual should be doing, and what they should be assessed on. This is where a clear role definition can help, as can dashboards, metrics, and targets.
2. Clarity on what good looks like
Linked to the above, too often there is no clear understanding of ‘what good looks like’ in a particular role. What are the output expectations? What are the key success factors? And what are the values, attitudes and behaviours that the individual needs to be demonstrating?
3. Motivation to improve and develop
Even with the above in place, if the individual is not committed to their performance and the continued development of it, then you are unlikely to get much out of the performance review. For the GB Women’s Hockey Squad the motivation was clear and tangible – a seat on that plane. What’s the equivalent for the person you are about to meet with to conduct their review? Do you ever put thought into it? Do you discuss it as part of the review? What career progression opportunities are there for the individual that equate to that seat on the plane? It’s critical that you take the time to think through and discuss this.
4. Trust and understanding
Review sessions often go wrong where there is a lack of trust and understanding. The reviewer needs to trust that the reviewee is coming to it with the right mindset and intentions. The reviewee needs to believe and trust that the reviewer is also coming to it with the right mindset and intentions, with no personal agenda that could colour things. The better the understanding, the more likely this is to happen. Understanding of each other, understanding how each of you is feeling (generally and on the day), understanding where each of you is coming from, understanding of expectations and requirements, and a joint belief that each of you wants to get the best from the session.
5. Clear communication
This is all helped by being really clear in your communication. I often make the point that in every interaction you have, you either add value, or take away. No communication is neutral. Whilst the temptation can sometimes be to be a bit ‘woolly’, or to soften difficult messages, in reality clear, objective and evidence-based feedback (good and bad) is much more helpful to the recipient. Think back to those GB hockey players – clear was good, woolly unhelpful.
6. What makes you ‘you’
If you are the person being appraised, you should leave the session with clarity on what it is about you that makes you ‘you’. This means that your strengths should have been highlighted and discussed, and that you should be clear on how they impact on those around you, your team, and the organisation itself. Each of us brings a unique set of skills, experiences, perspectives and qualities to our roles and our organisations. Having those articulated back to us helps us believe that we are valued and appreciated for who we are. Similarly, clarity on the gaps we need to fill, and the areas we need to develop, helps us believe that the process is robust and one which is truly focused on each of us as individuals.
7. A strong process behind all of this
All of this requires a strong process to be in place. Rhythms and cycles will depend on the organisation’s need and culture, but it’s vital to have a robust performance review framework which covers approach, templates, regularity, follow ups, check-ins etc. I know from my work with senior leaders that performance review time is not always top of the list in terms of things to look forward to. I always urge a mindset shift – it’s critical to the sustained success of the organisation, and really important to ensure each individual involved feels valued, motivated and engaged.
So using the above, what can you do to make yours better?
For more on this or any aspect of leadership and performance, with a healthy dose of mindset, sport, and I hope usefulness thrown in, do feel free to browse through all the articles in the Huddle, or get in touch with me directly on catherine@sportandbeyond.co.uk. To order a copy of my book - Staying the Distance: The Lessons From Sport That Business Leaders Have Been Missing – click here .