The way to guarantee a smooth performance review conversation is by assigning well thought development goals at the beginning of the year.
Of course, we can’t change last year’s goals but, we are still on time to better formulate those for the current year!
If you have quantitative goals, your task is easier. The accomplishment of your account manager, whom you asked to increase their clientele base by 20%, is easy to assess.
Most manager these days have more complex performance indicators, some of which are in the realm of “qualitative” objectives, related to behaviors rather than numbers. Manager fear that their evaluation might be dismissed as “incorrect” because behaviors are not easily measured.
I don’t agree with this idea. Behaviors can be measured.
Let’s make an example to clarify. If I asked my direct report Jane to be more assertive – one of the most selected developmental goals, especially for women – and I haven’t’ agreed on observable behaviors, my task at the end of the year will be difficult. I will have to rely on my gut. Seasoned managers might have developed a good intuition, nevertheless they will still lack the evidence to support their evaluation.
How can we tackle this issue? I suggest dividing assertiveness into specific behaviors and impacts of being assertive. How do we do that? Ask yourself this question: Once Jane will be assertive, what will be the impact on her work? Three consequences pop up in my mind:
- She will be clear on project’s perimeters – who does what
- She will clearly communicate her team’s needs
- She will look for win-win solutions and won’t be submissive toward others’ requests that might compromise the end result
If these behaviors will be acted, what will be the consequence for the business?
- Projects will reach consensus faster
- All parties involved will be satisfied with the agreement
- Decision making will be clear and faster
These three consequences are measurable, aren’t they? We have just defined KPIs that will allow us both to assign developmental goals and to measure them.
Try it out with the goals you have to assign now and let me know if they work!