The performance review is the most overprescribed management-controlled substance on the market. Hugely addictive among management users, wholly unsatisfying in every respect, and just unproductive. This unregulated controlled substance wreaks havoc on the employee psyche and generally impedes the natural growth of the business. I used the word controlled because every employer uses performance reviews to psychologically manipulate employees to instill fear and anxiety. In a majority of the cases I have handled, the review is a means to the end to manage an employee out of the business. Simply, this is the worst method of communication ever developed by man. The use of performance reviews must end and must be replaced with a better approach I will discuss in a moment.
To clear the air of any confusion, performance reviews exist to develop a defensible legal position against soon-to-be departing employees who turn around and sue their employers. The review is not intended nor designed to improve your performance. After working for so many years now, you know when you are doing well and what performance items you need to work on. A review is a nonsensical subjective management commentary that appears in writing before the termination, nothing more and nothing less. You should always file written rebuttal comments in your personnel file or emails to your manager to correct the factual record. Performance reviews are like nasty emails you should never send because they always come back to bite you in the ass.
My approach is simple and it is driven by an extremely active role taken by the employee/executive to communicate their expectations about what they want and determine how those expectations coincide with the company’s expectations: Communication = Listening + Acknowledgement + Action. To be an effective person (not just at work) you need to embrace active listening. Avoid the tendency to interrupt the person you are communicating with and clear the filters you normally apply. Take time to listen to the other person, and let them exhaust their train of thought or idea. Silent listening allows the other person to begin to feel empowered, open up to you, become vulnerable, and appear less guarded. You form a more meaningful connection without the use of any words! Be mindful of all your bodily contortions as you sit silently listening, as the other person is consciously and subconsciously reading your body cues and readjusting their communication with you. When you believe the other person has paused, then acknowledge (summarize) what they just said to reaffirm their position. Just don’t use the word but as your first or tenth word when you summarize. You need to truly engage in the other person’s thoughts, comments, and ideas as if they were your own. Step into their shoes and wear them. Only then can you see both sides of the discussion, argument, or whatever situation you are in.
Once you have heard the other side, you can take Action. What I mean by taking action is to find solutions, choices, alternatives, examples, etc. that permit both parties to form a bridge to a common understanding regarding each other’s expectations regarding any situation you are confronting. You should refrain from any judgmental comments as this will surely turn the other listener away. However, you should push the envelope and take chances that move the parties to a new position. This is where your thinking out of the box can make changes that will create new opportunities with coworkers and management.
Now after reading this effective yet simple solution, do you need a heavily subjective performance review?
Employers Are Addicted to Performance Reviews. If you would like more information about this topic, please contact our employment attorneys in Connecticut and New York, Carey & Associates PC at 203-255-4150.
