Trust and Pay

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Seth made me think (again) today.  He said:

    “The way to get promoted in an ad agency is to get a new client who spends lots of money on television.

    Well, if that’s the way you get promoted, what do you think people are going to do all day?”

That’s true but the real problem occurs when the client really doesn’t need to advertise on television.

Compensation should focus on the desired outcome.  This should be true in as many cases as possible.  

If the desired outcome is to sell more products, the ad agency should get paid based upon how many products are sold.

If I am a business coach and my job is to help you achieve your goals, you should not pay me if I have not helped you do that. 

The fundamental tenant in each of these relationships is trust.  The ad agency must trust the client to provide good service and to fill orders quickly and efficiently.  The client must trust the ad agency to do everything possible to sell the product.

In the coaching example the coach must trust the client to work diligently in the areas they explore.  The client must trust the coach to bring out the best in him/her.

Trusting someone is difficult.  But why would you give your money to someone you didn’t trust? 

Getting More from Your Performance Review

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Jared Jost of Salary.com has posted Seven Tips to a Better Review. Here they are:

1. Track your contributions

Keep a journal at your desk that you can update daily or weekly with your key accomplishments, positive feedback you have received and comments about areas where you can improve.

2. Compile your greatest achievements

Each month, review your journal entries and track your progress against your goals and areas that have been identified for improvement. When you prepare for your formal performance review, compile these in an easy to reference list and highlight the especially important improvements and accomplishments.

3. Research your market value

If you want to convincingly discuss what you are worth, conduct your own market research. You can start at Salary.com with the Salary Wizard to find national average salaries for your job description or you can get a more specific and comprehensive report if you purchase a Personal Salary Report.

4. Present your findings

Deliver to your manager a summary of your key results. It should be a document that looks professional and is well written. You may also want to include your self-assessed goals and areas for improvement for the upcoming review period.

5. Listen to your feedback

Be attentive and take notes as your manager provides feedback or outlines your goals for the upcoming review period - don’t be defensive, accept it as an opportunity to develop your professional skills.

6. Confirm the accomplishments and areas that could be improved

After you discuss your accomplishments and areas for improvement, confirm with your manager that you clearly understand each point. Then focus the conversation on activities you should undertake to ensure your contribution during the next review period. This will help you and your manager agree on the most direct path to achieving your goals.

7. Create a plan to achieve your goals

After you have completed your performance review with your manager, it is time to prepare for your next review. Start by creating a list of your key goals and objectives, and then formulate an action plan to achieve those goals by your next performance review. Make sure your goals are aligned with company goals and priorities.

This is all good advice – and I must say, it looks rather familiar.

Five Ways to Get a Fair Shake at Evaluation Time

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Last year we discussed the failure of most Performance Evaluation Systems (I reposted my thoughts earlier today).

Here are five ways to make sure you present yourself in the best light:

Start Early – You need to set the table in order to have a productive discussion about the value you create for your company.  Start with monthly meetings that itemize your contribution to the company.  These meetings should be on-going.  You should have these discussions for several months before your performance review is due.

Dolarize your Contribution – How much revenue have you brought into the company?  How much money have you saved the firm?  What has your overall contribution been worth?  Most decision-makers respond well to financial justification for major decisions.  You need to frame any discussion about your performance as a major discussion.  This begins with attaching a dollar figure to your overall contribution to the company.

Keep the Conversation Focused on Value Creation – Most reviews stray into areas of personal improvement.  Some of this is valuable.  You need to learn how you can get better at your job.  The danger comes in when you are critiqued on areas of your personality that you cannot improve.  For example:  A person with a poor aptitude for advanced mathematical calculations will never be a world class statistician.  He can learn to understand, apply and make decisions based upon the results of a statistical analysis but he will never be “The Best” at compiling that analysis. 

A performance review conversation should be focused on how you can create more value for the firm based upon your individual strengths.  You will be far more effective if you are doing what you do best each and every single day.  This is in the best interest of all parties in the conversation.  Do everything possible to help your boss understand that you want to continue to create value.  Also help him understand that you can be infinitely more productive if you are focused on doing the things you do best and not on areas that require taking you out of areas of your natural talent and strength. 

Examine Replacement Cost – What would it cost to replace you?  Warning: Don’t overtly bring this information to the forefront unless you are prepared to walk away. 

One way to introduce this topic is during a budget or financial discussion.  Talk about potential personal losses in general.  Analyze the cost of replacing your peers or those who report to you.  Look at things like training costs, the loss of revenue for vacant positions, revenue opportunities that will “slip through the cracks” if these positions go vacant.  Remember – make this about the costs of losing other people and not about losing you.  Believe me, your boss will get the message.

Face the Fear – Most people operate from a position of weakness when it comes to evaluating their own performance.  The weakness comes in when people do not raise these issues because they are afraid they will lose their jobs.  In the end you must reconcile this situation within yourself.  Sure you might lose your job.  Chances are it will take some time for your boss to fire you.  He does not want the extra work.  Set your fear aside and be smart in discussing the value you provide to your company.

Every opportunity to discuss your performance should be an opportunity for you to shine.  It should be about demonstrating the value you provide.  To make sure this happens, you must control the conversation.

 

Your Performance Review Stinks

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

One Year Ago:

Sometimes, your superiors instill in you a mindset that is set in stone. You sit through performance review after performance review and hear feedback that tells you that you need to improve in a certain area. This immediately translates into a perception that you are deficient in that area and that area is critical to your success in moving into the next position. You are wrong to accept this feedback as gospel.

There are four reasons why the feedback you receive on your performance review isn’t the best way to judge your overall value:

Performance review feedback is subjective. A performance review reflects the opinion of one person. Although some companies use a 360-degree feedback tool that includes feedback from peers and subordinates under the guise of objectivity, this just offers subjectivity in greater volume. In many cases, performance reviews are a popularity contest.

Guidelines often prevent true value assessment. Your supervisor has specific guidelines that she has to follow when she completes your review. Her feedback will be confined to, or at least influenced by, the company’s guidelines. Helpful individual feedback can be restricted by the rules in place for completing the process.

The company sets the success criteria. You are evaluated based upon a conglomeration of criteria that may not exist in any one person. If your company has put thought into the development of its performance management system, it has probably developed specific criteria to evaluate individual performance. This criterion is often based upon qualities that exist in their best performers or in a cross-section of these individuals. No one may be able to become the super-employee who receives the highest performance evaluation.

True measurement is rare. Very few companies have true measures of individual performance that are helpful in assessing value. Companies that rely on individual sales performance to drive growth may have some degree of measurement in place. What they do with that measurement is another story. It is difficult to find an organization that associates “hard” metrics with individual performance evaluation. When you do find a company that does so, it often accepts the numbers at face value. It does not look at the supporting factors that influence individual performance. You become the number you produce.

Making Your Unique Contribution

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

A while back Mark Howell offered us some great tips on how to make the most out of your career.

Here are his thoughts:

  • First, what are your strengths?  Lots of people have talked about this lately and there are lots of helpful books on the subject.  Drucker’s take is to begin the practice of writing down your key decisions and your expected outcome.  You will be able to tell based on where you’re succeeding what your strengths are.  I’m thinking this would work very well within the context of a group.
  • Second, how do you work?  In other words, think about the personal style you bring to the work you’re doing.  Are you best with a team or by yourself?  Do you like structure or are you better at playing it by ear?  Do you work well with the predictable or the chaotic?
  • Third, what are your values?  If you’re in an organization where you’re not comfortable with the values you’re in the wrong place.  But the first step is to recognize your own values.
  • Fourth, where do you belong?  Based on your answers to the first three questions what kind of work environment suits you best?  If you can determine the environment that suits you best, you have a chance to move from merely an adequate employee to one that really is effective.
  • Fifth, what can I contribute?  I realize more and more that I am wired to do certain things in a very particular kind of environment with an organization that I truly believe in.  When I am operating in that sweet spot I can be very effective.  If I am off by a degree on any of those elements it will show.  It won’t necessarily be a deal breaker.  But it will show.

Once you evaluate yourself based on these criteria you can objectively assess how you can make a contribution.

This is similar to the concept of the personal situation analysis that I discuss in Career Intensity. 

Self awareness is the key to a satisfying and productive career.

Personal Situational Analysis

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

The first step in Career Intensity and the Cycle of Continuous Improvement is evaluating where you are. Knowing what you do well (and not so well) helps you leverage your skills and talents to create and demonstrate value. I asked the panel of professionals:

What are your insecurities regarding your career, and how do you deal with them? What are you most confident about in your work?

I worry that I’m not a good enough designer. I have great moments of inspiration, and I just allow time to heal all wounds. You eventually accept that everything is subjective. I’m most confident about the “me” aspect. I can figure things out and get them done. I’m a really competent person. If I say it will get done, it just will. (Jill, Marketing/PR Creative Director)

Jill’s strength is her determination. If she wants to build confidence in her design skills, I would recommend that she take an advanced design course, or apprentice with a designer whose work she admires. The truth is she’s probably a lot better designer than she thinks she is, but training is a very efficient and direct way to build skills and confidence.

It’s hard to stay current on new medications, actually. I study nursing journals and look up meds on the Internet. I am most confident in my empathy for my patients and my rapport with their family members. (Jane, Nurse)

Jane has a strategy in place for dealing with the issue that concerns her, and that’s really the best any of us can do. She stays on top of the information, and she puts a lot of energy into building strong and positive relationships with her clients. That’s really where most of your energy should go. Naturally, you want to master your field to as great a depth as you can, but if you don’t have those human connections in place, no one’s going to know how much of an expert you are and you’re going to be limited in your opportunities.

I am insecure about my ability to do my job really well and to enjoy it. I find my career very, very stressful, and I feel mediocre at it. I try to be less of a perfectionist, and I use stress management techniques. I am trying to exercise more and learn meditation techniques. I am most confident in my ability to get along well with colleagues.
(Michelle, College English Instructor)

I would ask Michelle to identify her main sources of stress. It sounds as though she may be asking too much of or being too hard on herself. You never do yourself any favors by judging yourself harshly. Recognize that you’re doing your best and you are making progress. The exercise and meditation is a great idea. Many of us do not take time out to take care of our health. Doing so usually has a huge impact on your overall levels of peace and productivity.

I don’t have a lot of experience managing such a large group. I just keep moving forward and trying to do a better job all the time. I am extremely knowledgeable in my field, and I can problem solve just about anything around that.
(Lynn, Operations Management Supervisor)

Lynn is in a great position for growth. She has enough challenge to keep her on her toes, and her skills are well developed enough that she can handle those challenges. Lynn is committed to continuous improvement, so she will most likely flourish in her management role and make great things happen.

Take some time today to think about your strengths and weaknesses, as well as how you can leverage your strengths and circumvent or improve upon your weaknesses for optimum success. We can all improve. Superachievers are constantly evolving and finding ways to offer even more value.

Full-Scale Evaluation

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Here’s an exercise that’s helpful to anyone at any stage of his career, but particularly pertinent for those who are at a bit of a crossroads, wondering what the best path is: Take a look at your entire employment history—by year, every few years, or each position you’ve held. Evaluate those jobs and your performance in them. Look at both the pros and cons.

First, make a list of all the advantages of the job, professional strengths you demonstrated, major achievements and successes, and overall progress.

Next, look at the flip side. What were the drawbacks of the position? What weaknesses of yours were brought out? What setbacks and obstacles did you encounter, and in what ways did you stagnate?

What’s really helpful about this exercise is that you may discover areas of strength you didn’t realize you had. We often get tunnel vision about our career path and abilities, but laying everything out like this can reveal patterns you hadn’t put together in your mind. Clients of mine have discovered that they’re actually great at training, negotiation, or sales, and that they enjoy doing these things. This exercise can illuminate passions and help you set specific targets for the future.

Personal Evaluation From the Outside In

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

The first step in the Cycle of Continuous Improvement is personal evaluation. How can we evaluate ourselves objectively and position ourselves for improvement and growth? You can examine two main sources of feedback about your performance.

First of all, think about external feedback—the comments, words of praise, assessments and complaints that come from your boss, coworkers, teachers, friends, and family. What comes up most of all? From these comments alone, you should be able to get a very good idea of your strengths and weaknesses. What do these people value most in you, and how can you leverage those traits for maximum future gains?

Secondly, look inward to your own gauges of success. Of which accomplishments are you most proud? What have you done that has made you feel happy to be alive? Conversely, do you have any regrets or tendencies that you would like to change?

The world offers a terrific wealth of information, guidance, and ideas to help us evolve into happy and successful individuals. All you have to do is tune into those signals and use them to steer you toward greater fulfillment.

Whack “Freddy”

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Guy Kawasaki has an interesting article up on his blog about how to handle layoffs.  He clearly knows what he is talking about.  My favorite point in his post is his advice to “Whack Freddy”.  Guy says:

    “Most executives have hired a friend, a friend of a friend, or a relative as a favor. When a layoff happens, all the employees will be looking to see what happens to “Freddy.” “Did he survive the cut or did he go? Is it cronyism or competence that counts at the company?” It should be true that Fred is dead.”

I agree completely.  Freddy should be the first to go. In fact he should never have been hired.

I have hired my share of friends and friends of friends and relatives.  This is almost always a mistake.  Here is a good test when this situation arises. 

Imagine that you are going in for a life altering surgical operation.  You are having surgery on a part of your body that you want to keep. You are appropriately anxious.  You have only met your surgeon a couple of times.  He seems fine and he is in your medical plan so you feel that he must be “OK”.  Just as you are being placed under the anesthesia you overhear him speaking with the nurse.  You hear him say “I sure am glad my brother-in-law got me this gig.  I had a hard time getting hospital privileges in this area”. 

How would you feel?

My point:

It doesn’t matter if that doctor is the best surgeon on the planet – or if Freddy is the best at his job – people will perceive him negatively because of how he was hired.  That is not fair to him.  It is not fair to you (his boss) and it’s not fair to the customer (or patient). 

Find a better candidate. 

 

The Five Secrets Your Boss Doesn’t Want You to Know

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Below is a link to my recent appearance on Today in New York.  The topic of discussion was The Five Secrets Your Boss Doesn’t Want You to Know. You’ll be hearing much more about this topic from me in the weeks ahead.

Enjoy the video – courtesy of You Tube.

 

Make Use of Feedback

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

You can’t get anywhere without keeping your customers happy, so I recommend that you make an ongoing effort to find out exactly what they want from you and give it to them. Responding to their feedback and improving their experience with you is an almost infallible way of guaranteeing future success for yourself. We all love it when our needs are met and our requests are honored. Customer opinion is a priceless resource for you.

How Did You Do?

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

As another work week draws to a close, take some time to look back at what you did and evaluate your progress. What did you do right this week? Write down the things you did that helped move you along on your path to success. Pay particular attention to the things you accomplished this week that you tend to struggle with. Maybe you triumphed by:

• Getting good rest each night this week.
• Being more sociable at work.
• Offering to help when problems arose.
• Talking to people about your successes.

Make a point to do all these things again next week, and the week after that. Eventually, after enough weeks of doing these things, you will form a habit. This is how successful people make their lives great. There’s no magic button or shortcut, despite how it may appear to onlookers. It’s all about setting goals, taking steps to achieve them, turning these small accomplishments into regular practice, and building a lifestyle of success.

Know Your Point of Origin

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

The core of success is the Cycle of Continuous Improvement, a never-ending process, which starts with personal evaluation, progresses to value creation, and moves onward to value demonstration. Many people have a very good idea of where they’d like to go and how they plan to get there. Equally important, though, is having the ability to assess where you are. When you’re looking at a roadmap, you need to know the destination, the path, and the starting point. Here are a few questions you can answer to evaluate yourself as you are today, in preparation for increasing individual value:

1. What are my strengths and weaknesses? The knowledge of where you are and what you’re good at now is a springboard to development and value creation. You will use your greatest strengths to improve your performance and show off your progress. You can do whatever you like with your weaknesses. If you’re a dreadful public speaker, it is probably worth your while to brush up on those skills. On the other hand, if your computer skills are shaky and you work in sales, it might make more sense for you to have a great computer person in your corner, rather than invest a lot of time in advanced computer skills classes.

2. What was my last major success, and how did I accomplish it? This is another exercise in identifying strengths, but now you have to come up with specific actions and results. Did you use your communication skills and diplomacy to resolve a touchy issue in the office? Great. What else can you use those skills to achieve?

3. Which of my talents are being used in my job, and which are not?
Most people are skilled in several areas, and your company and customers no doubt need your contributions in other areas as well. An acquaintance of mine, Helen, recently began developing and administering training programs at the small company for which she is employed. Her job description says nothing whatsoever about training, but because the company has no training staff and Helen saw a need that she was qualified to meet, she jumped on it. As a result, performance has improved across the board and the owner of Helen’s company has expressed deep appreciation for her efforts.

4. How can I create more value for my company and customers? Just as you need to identify skills of yours that are going untapped, you should also figure out where needs in your company are not being met and think about how you can respond. What is everyone always complaining about, and what could you do to address the problem? Don’t let yourself be constrained by your job title. I have seen administrative assistants resolve technical issues that confounded their supervisors and tech staff propose winning creative ideas. The best way to secure your future is to provide value consistently.

Others Can’t Judge Your Value

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

How was your last performance review? If it was great, good for you. If not, it doesn’t really matter. Here’s why:

Performance reviews are subjective. Your review reflects the opinion of one person or group of people from one organization, with their own priorities, which may not agree with yours. You may be highly creative, yet work for a company that places no premium on creativity, for instance.

Guidelines can prevent true value assessment. Your supervisor’s feedback is framed by the guidelines she is required to use. The value you offer may not be quantified in your assessment.

The company sets the success criteria.
What is valuable to you and your career may not be as valuable to the company. You are evaluated based upon a conglomeration of criteria that may not exist in any one person.

True measurement is rare. Very few companies measure performance in a way that accurately reflects individual achievement. Mediocre workers who don’t rock the boat can end up earning more points than those who go beyond the call of duty.

You know your strengths best. If you want to move ahead in a company, you would be wise to emphasize the strengths your company values, and demonstrate them at every opportunity. However, if what you value most in yourself is not recognized or appreciated by your employer, you should probably move on to a position in which you can maximize the impact of your abilities, demonstrate them, and be rewarded for them.

If you feel that your best talents are not being exercised in your job, that’s a clear signal that you are in the wrong place. Don’t sell yourself short by remaining in a position that does not make the most of you. Seek out better opportunities. Those companies and customers that are in the market for what you offer are definitely looking for you.

Rejection Rebound

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Rejection is an unavoidable part of life, but it doesn’t have to be painful. We all get rejected—from jobs, dates, cliques, schools. But the successful person doesn’t let any of that get to him. He keeps right on trying to move into situations that are beneficial to him. Try to use rejection and criticism as a tool for self improvement. Reward yourself for taking the initiative to go to that interview or ask that person out. Take away the positives. What did you do well in the interview? How have you improved since the last one? Be glad that you tried, get right back to it, and try again.

Track Your Progress

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Successful people break down major goals into smaller increments and take steps every day to achieve them. Writing down your goals and your daily and weekly action items, along with recording your strides forward, are excellent ways of celebrating progress and keeping yourself on task. Create quantitative and qualitative charts for your progress. Set attainment of your goal at 100%, and define benchmarks all along the way. Post progress charts in your work area to keep you motivated.

Progress Check-In

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Successful people set goals, take steps to achieve them each day, and evaluate their progress. Don’t skip this final, often-ignored step. In whatever you set out to do, state your aims clearly. Write them down. Take the necessary actions. Then look back on the process and take note of what worked and what did not. Pay attention to the following elements, and record them:

Successes: What went right? What left you feeling accomplished and proud? On what points did you receive positive feedback?

New approaches: What did you try this time that you usually don’t? Did it work? For instance, did you make more of an effort to be sociable at a business conference, or participate more in a meeting? How did you feel as you tried this new approach? Was it effective?

Snags. Did anything take more time than it was worth? What set you back or got you off course?

Frame your observations with the purpose of encouraging yourself toward future growth. If you find that being more socially involved in work functions results in more opportunities and a feeling of accomplishment, make a note to self: Speak up and get involved at work functions. Or phrase it as an affirmation: I am good at socializing, and getting involved brings me more opportunity. The value of evaluating yourself regularly is that you can use the very clear facts about your ventures to guide you in succeeding in the future.

Responsiveness is your Competitive Advantage

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

It shouldn’t be, but it is. As a small business you can react quickly to changing conditions. You can meet the demands of your customers in real time. This is a huge advantage. In today’s service-intensive society responsiveness should be the price of entry into any market. It is not.

Here are a few examples:

While thinking about ways to distribute Career Intensity to the widest possible audience, I came up with a few ideas I thought would work. I shared these with my colleagues at the publishing company. They loved them. We immediately enlisted the help and support of our distributor who promptly did nothing. That’s right. You read that correctly. They thought the ideas were great but they did not react. What followed was weeks of follow-up, pestering and cajoling. Finally the distributor took some action. The action was initiated a month after I first presented the ideas. While no one knows how this will impact sales (if at all) quick action would have given us some time to test the ideas rather than go straight to market.

I’ve been traveling quite a bit lately. I recently checked in at a high caliber hotel in a location that I frequent. Upon unpacking I noticed that my shirt (for the next day’s presentation) needed ironing. When I went to the closet to get the iron that was normally there, I found that it was missing. I immediately called the front desk and asked for another iron. The desk agent said they would check with housekeeping and get back to me. Four phone calls later I was told that they were out of irons and that I should check back the next morning. The next day the same scenario occurred, however I was only able to call down to the front desk twice. I never received a response. That’s the last time I’ll stay at that hotel – and I’m traveling back to that location at least three more times this year.

President’s day weekend I was running some errands. I needed to pick up dry cleaning but I was not planning to be in that part of town on Saturday (my errand day). I called the cleaners and asked if they were going to be open on Monday (the holiday) so I could pick up my suits and shirts at that time. The woman who answered the phone said she only worked one day per week and she said she would call the owner and get back to me. I never received a call back and…you guessed it…they were closed on Monday. This left me with only two shirts and one suit for a four day business trip. Now I need to find a new dry cleaner.

All things considered, these are minor inconveniences. Nobody got hurt and my business probably didn’t suffer much as a result of these lapses in responsiveness. However if I find a new book distributor, hotel or dry cleaner who is responsive they will certainly get my business. They will have a competitive advantage over the incumbents.

Ask yourself: How many great opportunities have I missed because I was not as responsive as I could have been?

From SoHo Savvy.

The Essence of Career Intensity

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Steve Rubel captures the essence of Career Intensity today in his quote from Ogilvy PR’s John Bell:  “(People) need to stop thinking about themselves. They need to decipher what people want in life and help them achieve their dreams.”

There are three steps to developing Career Intensity.  Self Awareness (through completion of a personal situational analysis), Value Creation and Value Demonstration.  The quote Steve shares with us speaks directly to Value Creation.

Simply put, if you want to create value you need to focus on other people.  Value is about doing things that help other people.  You must embody external orientation.  Helping others achieve their dreams will draw opportunities to you like a magnet.

This is the fastest way to succeed in the Individual Economy.

 

Be Your Own Judge and Jury

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

You should be the only judge of your own success. Only you know what the roadmap to your destination looks like.

 

Pretend that you are going on a long journey with some friends. You all start out from the same location. Everyone knows that it will take several days to get to the place you want to go. Everyone knows where that place is, but the friends you are traveling with do not know how to get there. You are the only person who has the map that will help you find your destination. Only you know which landmarks along the way will help keep you on course. How do you think the other travelers feel? Do you think they have blind faith that you will reach your destination? Some of them may, but the majority probably has doubts. They may believe that you have selected a destination that is too far from home or that may require too difficult a journey. They may also feel that you don’t know how to get from point A to point B. You have the map and only you can judge whether or not you are on course.

 

Time and again I have seen people set standards for others that were far too low, and they ended up shortchanging the potential of the individual. Only you know how much talent, skill, and knowledge you bring to any task that you attempt. Others have no true way of assessing your potential. In addition, only you can gauge your motivation toward achievement. Because no one has access to those aspects of your personality, they can’t judge whether or not you are capable of achieving your goals.

 

If you allow others to define your successes, they will ultimately define your future. It is crucial that you look at your future through your own lens and that you assess your own effort toward success. It is the only way to control your destiny.

Most Performance Reviews Don’t Measure Your Value

Posted by Dave Lorenzo - Business Coach

Sometimes, your superiors instill in you a mindset that is set in stone. You sit through performance review after performance review and hear feedback that tells you that you need to improve in a certain area. This immediately translates into a perception that you are deficient in that area and that area is critical to your success in moving into the next position. You are wrong to accept this feedback as gospel.

There are four reasons why the feedback you receive on your performance review isn’t the best way to judge your overall value:

Performance review feedback is subjective. A performance review reflects the opinion of one person. Although some companies use a 360-degree feedback tool that includes feedback from peers and subordinates under the guise of objectivity, this just offers subjectivity in greater volume. In many cases, performance reviews are a popularity contest.

Guidelines often prevent true value assessment. Your supervisor has specific guidelines that she has to follow when she completes your review. Her feedback will be confined to, or at least influenced by, the company’s guidelines. Helpful individual feedback can be restricted by the rules in place for completing the process.

The company sets the success criteria. You are evaluated based upon a conglomeration of criteria that may not exist in any one person. If your company has put thought into the development of its performance management system, it has probably developed specific criteria to evaluate individual performance. This criterion is often based upon qualities that exist in their best performers or in a cross-section of these individuals. No one may be able to become the super-employee who receives the highest performance evaluation.

True measurement is rare. Very few companies have true measures of individual performance that are helpful in assessing value. Companies that rely on individual sales performance to drive growth may have some degree of measurement in place. What they do with that measurement is another story. It is difficult to find an organization that associates “hard” metrics with individual performance evaluation. When you do find a company that does so, it often accepts the numbers at face value. It does not look at the supporting factors that influence individual performance. You become the number you produce.

Executive Career Coaching   Entrepreneur Coaching   Sales Coaching   Small Business Branding  

© 2007 David V. Lorenzo - Business Coach and Advisor