Strategies for Year-End Performance Reviews

Performance reviews shouldn’t feel like a surprise attack. They should build trust. Clarify expectations. Support growth. But too often? They leave people confused or deflated. It doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s what happens when emotionally intelligent leaders get it right 👇 It’s a two-way conversation, not a monologue ↳ One-sided reviews undermine trust and overlook valuable insights. ❌ Avoid saying: “Here’s how you did this year...” ✔️ Consider saying: “Before I share my feedback, I’d love to hear your thoughts on how this year went—the wins and the challenges.” It starts with strengths, highlighting achievements ↳ Emphasizing strengths fosters safety and enhances openness to feedback. ❌ Avoid saying: “First, let’s address the areas needing improvement. ” ✔️ Consider saying: “Let’s begin with what’s working. You’ve had a strong impact in [XYZ area].” It names emotions without making it personal ↳ Emotions are important, but feedback concentrates on behaviors, not character. ❌ Avoid saying: “You were quite challenging to collaborate with on this project.” ✔️Consider saying: “There were a few moments that caused frustration for the team—can we discuss how we might approach that differently together?” It balances necessary candor with care ↳ Candor fosters personal growth, while care encourages openness to embrace that growth. ❌ Avoid saying: “This is probably not a strength of yours.” ✔️ Consider saying: “This area fell short of expectations, and I know you can achieve more. Let’s discuss what would assist us moving forward.” It includes future-forward coaching ↳ Reviews should focus on growth rather than merely reviewing the past. ❌ Avoid saying: “There’s not much more to say. I think you know where I stand on your performance. Let’s see how the next quarter goes.” ✔️Consider saying: “Let’s discuss what’s next—what goals you’re excited about and how I can support your development.” It reflects active listening for deeper understanding ↳ People share more when they feel understood ❌ Avoid saying: “I already know how you’re going to respond—we don’t need to rehash that.” ✔️Consider saying: “Can you share more about your experience with the [XYZ] project? I want to ensure I’m not overlooking anything.” It ends with alignment and encouragement ↳ The conclusion of a review should create clarity and momentum, not confusion or hesitation. ❌ Avoid saying: “I suppose you should just keep working on it.” ✔️Consider saying: “I feel like we are on the same page, and I’m committed to supporting you at every turn." ✨ That’s the kind of review that builds trust, ownership, and momentum. What’s a phrase you’ve heard—or used—that made a performance review feel like a real conversation? Drop it in the comments 👇 *** ♻️ Re-post or share so others can lead more effectively 🔔 Turn on notifications for my latest posts 🤓 Follow me at Scott J. Allen, Ph.D. for daily content on leadership 📌 Design by Bela Jevtovic

In my 18 years at Amazon, I've seen more careers transformed by the next 2 weeks than by the other 50 weeks of the year combined. It's performance review season. Most people rush through it like a chore, seeing it as an interruption to their "real work." The smartest people I know do the opposite: they treat these upcoming weeks as their highest-leverage opportunity of the year. After handling over fifty feedback requests, self-reviews, and upward feedback 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 for nearly two decades, I've learned this isn't just another corporate exercise. This is when careers pivot, accelerate, or stall. Your feedback directly impacts compensation, career trajectories, and professional growth. Your self-assessment frames how leadership views your entire year's work. This isn't busywork—it's career-defining work, but we treat it with as much enthusiasm as taking out trash. Here's how to make the most of it: 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 - Ask yourself: "What perspective am I uniquely positioned to share?" Everyone will comment on the obvious wins and challenges. Your job is to provide insights others miss, making your feedback instantly invaluable. 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀 - I keep a living document for every person I work with. When something feedback-worthy happens—good or challenging—it goes in immediately. No more scrambling to remember projects from months ago. This ensures specific, timely examples when needed. 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 - Don't just list tasks—craft a narrative. Lead with behaviors that drove impact. Show your growth in handling complex situations, influencing across teams, and making difficult trade-offs. Demonstrate self-awareness by acknowledging areas where you're actively improving. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 - They receive little feedback all year. Focus on how they help you succeed and specific ways they could support you better. Make it dense with information—this might be their only chance to learn how to serve their team better. 𝗢𝗻 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 - The difference between criticism and valuable input is showing you genuinely want the other person to succeed. When that intention shines through, you don't need to walk on eggshells. Be specific about the behavior, its impact, and how it could improve. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 - Good constructive feedback often feels like an insult at first. But here's the mindset shift that changed everything for me: feedback is a gift. It's direct guidance on improvement from those who work closest with you. When you feel that defensive instinct rise, pause and focus on understanding instead. Here's your challenge: This year, treat performance review season like the most important work you'll do. Because in terms of long-term impact on careers—both yours and others'—it just might be.

“Work hard and hope” is not a good strategy for getting a strong performance review, but you can take specific actions to maximize your rating. Here is what to do before, during, and after your review to ensure the best possible review. Before the review (~2-3 months) - A few days before a routine 1:1, tell your manager that you would like some feedback. Give them a few days to think deeply and prepare. Don’t ambush them. - Ask them to provide feedback in terms of the score you would like to receive on your review. For example, ask “Am I performing at a top tier level?” if that is the term your organization uses. - If you receive corrective feedback, begin addressing it immediately. - Line up your peer reviewers. Let key peers and peers of your manager know that you will ask them for feedback at review time. Get their feedback and begin to address it. Before the review (~3 weeks) - Send your reviewers a prep list. Throughout the year, maintain a list of your accomplishments and deliverables. Send this to your reviewers when they are preparing your review to help them remember what you have accomplished throughout the year. During the review - Reply to all feedback, positive or negative, beginning with “thank you.” - Don’t argue with feedback, even when you disagree. Instead, say “I respect what you are saying, but I am having trouble fully understanding it. Can you give me a specific example?” - For positive feedback, ask if you should seek to do more of that action. Ask where it would help the organization if you did it more. After the Review: - Take immediate and visible action on the feedback. - Verify negative feedback with respected advisors if you don’t agree or understand it. If they support the criticism, revisit your objection. If they don’t, think about how you can work around that negative feedback rather than changing to address it. - If your review goes well, begin a discussion about how to grow your role or responsibility. These are the tactical takeaways from my latest newsletter, “Ensuring a Great Performance Review.” In the newsletter, I go into greater depth on each of these points and explain how to implement them. As the year ends and many head into review season, there is just enough time to use this process all the way through. Check out the newsletter and use it to get the best possible score on your review so that it can bring you one step closer to promotion. You can read it here: https://buff.ly/3NKNkLV Readers- Any other tactical insights in order to get the most out of annual reviews?

Most performance reviews fail. Managers don't like doing them and team members dread them. Only 20% of employees feel their performance review motivates them to perform better afterwards. That's not a little problem, it's a big leadership problem. The purpose of a performance review isn't paperwork; it's professional progress. During a skill mastery session this week, I shared the the four elements every leader needs to cover: 1. Provide an accurate performance evaluation 2. Discover skill development opportunities 3. Make fair compensation adjustments 4. Inspire future performance If you want your performance reviews to matter, focus on the conversation, not the form. Here’s a simple blueprint to guide you: - Start with connection: “How are you feeling about this performance review?” - Review prior performance: "Here is the current scoreboard and effort that's producing those results." - Discuss growth: “What skills are you working on developing to deliver more consistent results or to achieve your professional goals?” - Adjust Compensation: "Based on your performance and our policy, your updated compensation looks like..." - End with Inspiration: “Tell a story or encourage future commitment.” Performance reviews should leave people encouraged, not deflated. If your team walks away with clarity, confidence, and commitment, you’ve done it right. What did I miss? Does your performance review system work? #leadership #coaching #managament