Best Practices for Performance Reviews

I've interviewed 50+ senior designers in the last quarter. Two alarming trends emerged: 𝟭. Portfolio paralysis: They can't showcase their best work. 𝟮. Memory fog: They struggle to recall project details from mere months ago. The result? Panic-induced all-nighters piecing together fragmented case studies. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟭𝟬% 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 👇 Implement this habit now: • Dedicate 10% of your week to documenting your design journey. • That's just 4 hours for a standard work week. • The payoff? Weeks of future stress eliminated. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗸𝗶𝘁: 𝟭. Daily Micro-Journaling (5 minutes) • Capture key decisions • Note stakeholder feedback • Record "aha" moments 𝟮. Weekly Summaries (30 minutes) • Outline sprint accomplishments • Highlight major pivots • Archive key artifacts 𝟯. Project Milestones (1 hour) • Synthesize learnings • Curate a "greatest hits" collection • Record quantitative & qualitative impact 𝗣𝗿𝗼 𝗧𝗶𝗽: Set up a Notion template or FigJam board. Make documentation frictionless. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 👇 Imagine this: 6 months from now, you have: • 26 concise weekly summaries • 130+ daily entries • A curated showcase of your best work You're not just prepared for job hunting. You're primed for: • Promotions • Speaking engagements • Mentorship opportunities Remember: Your future self will thank you. Your future hiring manager will be impressed. Don't let your best work fade into memory. Document, curate, and shine. ----- I've posted about this issue recently & had some great feedback & conversations. 💬 ----- #design #tech #ux #productdesign #careers

Managers often resist performance appraisals—not just because they’re uncomfortable, but because deep down, they feel uneasy about passing judgment on another person’s worth. This insight, drawn from a 1972 Harvard Business Review article, remains just as relevant today. Douglas McGregor argued that traditional performance evaluations put too much power in the hands of managers while treating employees as passive subjects rather than active participants in their own growth. Instead, he advocated for a shift: let employees set their own performance goals, reflect on their progress, and work collaboratively with their manager to course-correct. This approach was groundbreaking then, and it still challenges the way many organizations operate. Despite decades of leadership development, many companies continue to rely on top-down, judgment-heavy appraisals rather than empowering employees to take ownership of their growth. The world looks different today—more remote work, shifting employee expectations, and a stronger focus on autonomy—but the core truth remains: people perform better when they have agency over their own development. Three takeaways for leaders today: (1) Turn Appraisals into Coaching Conversations Instead of judging past performance, help employees define clear, meaningful goals and guide them forward. (2) Shift from Evaluation to Self-Reflection Encourage employees to assess their own progress first. They often hold themselves to a higher standard than managers do. (3) Recognize That People Aren’t Products Performance reviews aren’t about "quality control." Employees aren’t widgets on an assembly line—they are individuals with evolving skills, aspirations, and challenges. McGregor’s ideas may have been ahead of their time, but they still hold a mirror up to how we manage talent today. If leaders want engaged, high-performing teams, they need to stop controlling and start empowering. How do you approach performance conversations in your organization? #performance #collaboration #coaching #teams #leadership #learning #growth #reflection #management #managers #conversations https://lnkd.in/e_tk9_DB

Leaders: Stop winging feedback. Use frameworks that drive growth. Giving feedback isn’t easy - but winged feedback often leads nowhere. Without structure, your words might confuse, demotivate, or even disengage your team. Here are 4 feedback frameworks that create clarity, build trust, and drive growth (and 1 to avoid): 1) 3Cs: Celebrations, Challenges, Commitments 🏅  → Celebrate what’s working well. → Address challenges with honesty. → End with commitments for improvement. 2) Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) 💡  → Describe *specific* situations. → Focus on observed behavior. → Explain its impact on team or goals. 3) Radical Candor 🗣️  → Care personally while challenging directly. → Show empathy but stay honest. 4) GROW Model: Goal, Reality, Options, Will ⬆️  → Set goals for feedback. → Discuss current reality. → Explore options for growth. → Commit together on action steps. ❌ 5) DO NOT USE: Feedback Sandwich ❌  → Start with something positive. → Address areas needing growth. → Close with another positive. ‼️ This outdated model tends to backfire as people feel manipulated. Structured feedback isn’t just about improving performance. It builds trust, fosters open communication, and creates an environment for continuous learning. ❓Which framework do you use to give feedback? ♻ Share this post to help your network become top 1% communicators. 📌 Follow me Oliver Aust for more leadership insights.

Beyond the Brag: Building Your "Impact Portfolio" Before Promo Season Hits It's promo season at Google, and I'm helping colleagues craft their promo packets. This behind-the-scenes look reveals a crucial truth: building your "impact portfolio" before the pressure hits is key. The promo process at Google (and many other companies) involves telling a compelling story of your contributions, backed by evidence, to convince peers you deserve a promotion. It can sometimes feel like bragging. But waiting until promo season to gather evidence is like cramming for a final exam. Instead, let's approach our careers with a continuous "impact portfolio" mindset. ✨ Capture "Impact Moments" Regularly ✨ Don't wait for formal reviews. As you complete projects, launch initiatives, or solve complex problems, document the key details: what you did, the impact it had, and any quantifiable results. Think of it as your own personal "highlight reel." ✨ Reframe "Bragging" as Storytelling ✨ Self-advocacy isn't about showing-off; it's about telling a compelling story of your contributions. Focus on the "why" behind your work and the value it created. ✨ Seek Feedback Beyond Performance Reviews ✨ Proactively ask for feedback throughout the year. Not just on what you did, but on how you did it. This provides valuable insights into your strengths and areas for growth. ✨ Build Your Network ✨ Your network is your extended "impact portfolio." People who have witnessed your contributions firsthand can be powerful advocates. Nurture those relationships. ✨ Quantify Your Impact ✨ Whenever possible, use numbers and data to illustrate your accomplishments. "Increased efficiency by X%," "Saved the team Y hours," "Led to Z revenue." These metrics make your impact tangible. The goal isn't just to ace the promo packet. It's to build a consistent narrative of impact that reflects your growth and value over time. When it comes time to advocate for yourself, you won't be scrambling to remember your accomplishments. You'll have a rich portfolio of evidence, ready to tell your story. If you haven't started building your impact portfolio, there's no better time than now. Your future self will thank you.

Personality Traits Don’t Belong in Performance Reviews Performance reviews should focus on skills, outcomes, and behaviors—not personality traits. An article by Suzanne Lucas for Inc. Magazine highlights a troubling finding from Textio: ✅ 88% of high-performing women receive feedback on their personality compared to only 12% of men. When men do get personality-related feedback, the descriptions differ significantly: Women: "Collaborative," "nice," or "abrasive" Men: "Confident," "ambitious" This disconnect reflects stereotypes that don’t help anyone grow. What NOT to do in performance reviews: ❌ Describe someone as "introverted" (personality-based language). ❌ Focus on general traits like "nice" or "helpful" without linking them to outcomes. What TO do instead: ✅ Address observable behaviors and impact: Instead of: "You're too quiet." Say: "I noticed you didn’t contribute in meetings; your ideas could add value if shared." ✅ Focus on outcomes: Highlight measurable results, goals, and areas for development tied to skills. ✅ Offer actionable feedback: Provide steps to improve performance, like asking someone to prepare discussion points to engage more actively. By focusing on behaviors, outcomes, and skills, reviews can help employees grow without reinforcing unhelpful biases. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gWTeTw5a What do you think? How does this impact women of color? How can we improve feedback processes to create fairer, more -actionable- reviews? #LeadershipDevelopment #PerformanceManagement #InclusiveLeadership

I just completed my 245th performance review while at SEIA…….. (We do mid-year and end-of-year, and I clearly have too many direct reports.)   Anyway, reading 245 self-evaluations (the prerequisite to the performance evaluation) has left me with some important takeaways:    1. Cover the entire year! I can’t tell you how many annual self-evaluations I read that focus only on the last three months. I know January seems far away when you are writing in November, but this is supposed to cover your entire year! Don’t rely on your supervisor to remember things that you have forgotten to mention. When I do my self-evaluation, I open up my calendar and review it week by week to remind myself of all the different things that happened during the year. That doesn’t mean I include everything, but it does mean that I highlight the big moments, events, and accomplishments that took place 8 months prior. 2. Quantify success to the extent possible. I love stats, numbers, comparisons, and metrics. I want to know if you met your revenue goals or how many people are communications efforts reached. Whatever your area of expertise, find a way to accompany your qualitative explanations of success with quantitative metrics. 3. Be honest. Please don’t tell me that you singlehandedly passed a piece of legislation (my policy teams don’t say this, to be clear!!!). I won’t believe you and it will undermine your credibility. But you may want to highlight how you drafted the advocacy strategy and led the coalition meetings to get the bill over the finish line. The same applies to rating yourself – if you are giving yourself 5s across the board (which in our reviews means Created New Standard), you better be ready to explain how and why that applies. Otherwise…..credibility is again in question. 4. And don’t be shy. With #3 in mind, you do need to be your own advocate. No one knows as well as you do what you accomplished over the past year. So tell your story. Paint the picture for your supervisor about how you exceeded your goals and brought great value to the organization. Just do it with integrity and your self-evaluation will be more meaningful.    I’m sure many of you are heading into an annual review in the next few weeks, so I’d love to hear from all of you in the comments⬇️   What is your best advice? What tips do you have for your own annual review?

Most performance reviews fail for the same three reasons: 1. The manager isn’t clear. 2. The employee feels unprepared. 3. Trust breaks down in the middle of the conversation. To help shift that, I created a free guide for managers who want their review conversations to build trust rather than erode it (not intentionally of course). Lead Reviews With Trust is a three-page guide rooted in my Seven Trust Languages framework. Inside, you’ll find: A. The L.A.N.D. method for delivering feedback that actually lands B. What to avoid (and what to say instead) C. How to regulate your tone and presence during tough conversations D. A simple follow-up rhythm that reinforces trust long after the meeting ends If you're leading reviews this season, this resource can help you bring clarity, confidence, and care into the conversations that matter most. The PDF is attached below. Tomorrow, I’ll share the companion guide designed specifically for employees. #Leadership #Manager #SevenTrustLanguages #PerformanceReviews #WorkplaceCulture #Trust

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

Giving negative feedback is uncomfortable for everyone. But if you say it the right way, it becomes a normal, healthy work conversation — not a fight. Here’s the simplest way to do it: ⸻ 1. Start gently Don’t attack. Ease into it. “Can we talk for a minute? I want to share something that might help us work smoother.” ⸻ 2. Talk about the action, not the person Don’t say “You’re careless.” Say what happened. “The report had a few mistakes, and it slowed us down.” ⸻ 3. Be clear about what went wrong No vague feedback. “In the client call, interrupting twice made it hard for them to share their point.” ⸻ 4. Share how it affects the team People respond better when they understand the impact. “It pushed the deadline by a day, and the team had to adjust everything.” ⸻ 5. Offer a simple next step Feedback works only if you show a way forward. “Let’s do a quick review together next time.” ⸻ 6. Ask for their side It shows respect and makes it a conversation. “What happened from your end?” “Anything that made this tougher?” ⸻ 7. End on a supportive note Leave them feeling capable, not defeated. “You’re good at what you do — this is just a small fix.” ⸻ 🔹 Quick Templates You Can Use Performance: “Hey, the task didn’t finish on time and it impacted the next steps. How can we avoid this going forward?” Communication: “In meetings, jumping in too quickly shuts others down. Let’s keep a pause in between.” Quality: “There were a few inconsistencies in the draft. Let’s tighten the review process.”