How to Advocate for Yourself in Performance Appraisals

I used to scramble before every performance review at Google. That changed when a veteran Googler shared a 3-step guide that I've relied on ever since. Step 1: Attributes 💪🏻 What are the key attributes that your company evaluates you on? Is it communication, teamwork, or innovation? Pick the top 3-5 where you really stand out from the crowd. Step 2: Projects 🧑🏻💻 Think about specific examples that showcase your skills and achievements related to those attributes. Don’t just describe what you did, quantify your achievements! Step 3: Advocates 🤝 Who can vouch for your performance? It's always better to have someone else sing your praises than to have to do it yourself. 🌟 Pro tip: Keep these updated throughout the year so you don’t have to scramble at the start of performance review season #performancereview #careerdevelopment

One year ago this video went ultra-viral on TikTok - amassing millions of views and thousands of comments. What surprised me was how controversial many found it. I often say: YOU are your own best advocate at work. Not your manager, not your friend, not the connection that helped you get the interview; you. Because of this fact, it's your responsibility to be keeping a log of EVERYTHING YOU DO AT WORK!! This includes: -high level projects/tasks -value add + impact of that work -follow-ups -unplanned asks -accomplishments A lot of people in the comments of this video yelled at me, saying that task-tracking is: -A waste of a time -Toxics -Useless because you will get laid off anyways What they are missing is that task-tracking has nothing to do with your employer and everything to do with YOU! Don't get it twisted. Having this information is so crucial for: -Updating your resume -Advocating for yourself during important career conversations (performance reviews) -Interviewing And if you struggle to clearly articulate what you do and why it's important, it's probably because you haven't taken a hot sec to write it down. It takes 5 minutes per day. Own Your Career Template is available here: https://rb.gy/s6c71 #personalfinance #budget #ownyourcareer

Raise your hand if the thought of self-promotion makes you cringe. ✋ Me too. I have been there. But how do you advocate for yourself in an authentic way without having to “sell” yourself? Here is the approach Julien Sauvage 🥖 shared in our community event last week: 💡 Use third parties to speak up for you. Specifically, he shared three ways to do this: 1️⃣ Have other people speak up for you. For instance, if you worked on a marketing campaign, having other stakeholders in the org tell your manager your campaign was fantastic and help them create impact is even more meaningful than if it just came from you. 2️⃣ Let data speak for you. Data can’t lie. If you implemented a new email marketing strategy and the open and click-through rates went through the roof, then share that data with your manager. The data speaks more powerfully than subjective measures of success. 3️⃣ Have external parties speak for you. For instance, if you created new positioning and messaging, and analysts (like Gartner) and reporters use your new positioning and lingo, then it speaks volumes of the impact you have created. I was pleasantly surprised and relieved to hear that even at his level, Julien Sauvage 🥖 has trouble talking about his accomplishments. As an immigrant as well, I fully relate to the initial shock at the more “self-promotional” culture of most US companies, which tends to favor employees who are more extroverted and like to self-advocate. But, the great news is that you can still be your true self and grow in your career, as Julien has shown. If you are looking for valuable, authentic insights, definitely follow Julien! ❓ What’s something that worked for you to get ahead? What would you add? #productmarketing #careergrowth #leadership #saas #leadership

Stop selling yourself short and stop giving the credit of your success to wrong people! For years in my early to mid-career, I’d give credit to others for my success. When promotions came my way, I'd often think, 'What did my manager see in me? I mustn't let them down.' When challenging projects were assigned to me, I'd be grateful for the opportunity to prove myself. You might wonder what's wrong with this mindset? It's good to acknowledge people around you who helped you reach where you are today. Right? In truth, there wasn't anything inherently wrong except that I was making assumptions on who was helping me and was undervaluing my own capabilities. The promotions weren't favors but recognitions of my skills and achievements. Not promoting the obvious choice would have reflected poorly on my manager, a fact they admitted to me a few years later. Those challenging projects? They were not just handed to me by my manager. There were sponsors in management rooting for me, people who had seen what I could do and knew I could turn a chaos into order. The funny part is, I had no idea these backstage supporters even existed until someone spilled the beans one day. And the manager I thanked profusely? I found out that they had, in fact, been reluctant to assign me to the high-profile, high impact projects. So, when I stepped into managerial role myself, I decided to help my team see their strengths. Here's what I encouraged them to do: ✔️ Be aware of your surroundings - understand office dynamics, know your advocates, and sponsors. ✔️ Ask why you were chosen for a project/promotion/opportunity - it helps you understand your strengths. ✔️ Recognize your worth - know that you're selected because you're capable. There's no need to constantly be in a mode of proving yourself. ✔️ Advocate for yourself - don't wait for others to recognize your value. Own your success, you've earned it! P.S.: When did you undervalue your worth and how did you come to recognize your potential?

"Self -Advocacy" As a mentor and coach this is one of the questions that comes up frequently. "What is the best way to advocate for myself?" I often acknowledge this question and dive a little deeper to get relevance of where the individual is at with questions like this.... Can you reflect and share a time when you wish you would have spoken up to advocate for yourself? And when you didn't what do you think was holding you back at the time? First off, self-advocacy doesn't mean being confrontational or aggressive. Nor is it selfish! (ladies, I'm 👀 at you) It's about expressing your needs, recognizing your worth, and taking proactive steps to achieve your goals. ➡ Know your worth and document your achievements: I always encourage folks to jot down what their strengths and what value they deliver (experiences, perspectives, hard and soft skills, industry knowledge). We often forget or downplay our accomplishments or underestimate our value in general. And invest in yourself personally and professionally for growth. Keep adding to the "value you deliver" and yes, document it! ➡ Seek Feeback Regularly We're all a work in progress (WIP) and seeking constructive feedback on how you can improve to how to be seen as someone who adds value. At some point, everyone receives negative feedback, and it can hurt and make you go inward or defensive. I've learned to actively listen and seek to understand and use it as an opportunity to grow. ➡ Grow Your Tribe of Cheerleaders (those who want you to succeed) Actively look for allies and mentors who truly want to see you succeed and will give you advice and also advocate for you when you're not in your room. ➡ Network (be diverse) This is one area that I wish I had started earlier, building a diverse network of relationships within and outside of work. It really is true your net worth is = your network. ➡ Learn to negotiate Early on in my career, I was definitely lacking in this area as well. This is a bit of an older fact, but it stuck with me. Men are four times more likely than women to ask for a raise—and when women do ask, we typically request 30% less than men do, says Carnegie Mellon University economics professor Linda Babcock, co-author of Women Don’t Ask. In a study of 78 masters degree students, she found that just 12.5% of women negotiated for their starting salary, versus 52% of men. Want a resource? Take a Masterclass from Chris Voss. Masterclass subscription is just $10/month that less than 2 fancy cups of coffee (see above, invest in yourself). ➡ Be an effective communicator When asking and advocating for yourself, use "I" statements and be succinct about your contributions and the impact you're driving. Nervous? Practice with one of your mentors. ➡ Set Boundaries (do this early) Know yours and communicate them clearly. Actively listen and seek to understand in your dealings with others and don't expect it always to go in your favor. Resiliency is key. #leadership