It’s review season!

It’s June. That can mean only one thing…summer is here and it’s time to enjoy the outdoors. As I would have wished.

But NO!

It’s time for exciting mid-year reviews at work #sarcasticgrin

I stepped into a managerial role by choice. So I should be more prepared and willing to do this sort of thing. I don’t actually mind the the writing bit. What wears me down tremendously is when people who report to me don’t act responsibly. It’s like getting the kids into class together after school assembly. Literally.

A few people are responsible. They are vested in their careers. They are self-aware of their performance even before I have a discussion about their reviews. These are the type of people who are a joy to manage. They are not only self-critical but also vested at the same time in how to move forward. They will grab opportunities and seek guidance. They also take feedback in the right spirit.

And then…you have the special kind of people. They believe they are doing the maximum amount of work. They forget to look around and see how their peers are working. They fail to collaborate with their teams. They don’t read. They don’t seek feedback. Objectives aren’t useful to them. They just do sprint work and stop at that. These are the type of people who are a pain to manage.

And lastly. You have the introverts. These are the trickiest to work with. They won’t really say what does or doesn’t drive them. This becomes clearer after coaching. They are the silent yet strong contributors in the team. They will make the most of the time they are given. And always make sure everything is followed up with written comms. Coaching is key here.

Now what happens during review time?

I use something called 9-box calibration model.

Every quarter, I place all my reports into one of those boxes based on their performance. The results are always communicated and documented. This gives them an idea of where they are in the organisation and also what type of actions are required to help them move forward.

What I don’t like about this box is that people at the same level are compared to each other.

As a manager, I like to look at what the potential of the individual is. What drives them and how they would like to move forward. Is this fair?