Lessons from a performance appraisal

If you are working for any organization, whether big or small, you have to go through the ritual of performance appraisal at the year end or start of next year.

This can be both good and bad. Good because, you get an opportunity to know your strengths and weaknesses as perceived by the management.

But it can be bad as well, especially if your boss only talks about the areas of improvement and can't see any good things that you have done. It shatters your morality and confidence level.

I recently got a similar feedback, which was more crucifying rather than pampering. Initially I attempted to prove my side, pointing out a few exceptional things that I had actually done. But I'm not sure if he saw them, as the argument never seemed to end. The discussion ended coldly.

After the usual emotional reaction of "it should not have happened this way", I slowly began to accept the situation. Accepting the situation immediately set me free and I started thinking forward.

Then I was randomly browsing tips on how to win in business and in life from an entrepreneur and he linked to some advice on how to handle failure and learn from it. It was a timely advice! Here is how I used this article to get good insight into my problem.

What is the problem?

Performance rating is not great.

Problem Divided into chunks

(Note: I'm in a customer service organization)

I...

1. did not liaise with the sales people very well.

2. did very few high value assignments.

3. (Surprisingly, in the process, I figured out a few exceptional things I had achieved, but unfortunately) did not market them very well, so my manager failed to see them.

4. did not attend a lot of conferences where I can get good sales leads.

Solutions (Things in my control)

1. After each assignment, follow up with the sales team and get a holistic picture of the deal.

2. Network with the sales team to figure out new opportunities and to know more about our important customers.

3. Keep track of customers' wish-list in our products and constantly communicate the same to developers. This can be an excuse to develop good rapport with the development team.

4. Actively seek key conferences/events in my domain and showcase good solutions there.

5. Engage in continued learning and education.

Things beyond my control

1. The opinion of my boss about me. No matter how much I try to prove myself, he is going to be himself. No point in trying to change him.

What to do immediately?

Try #2 and #5 in solutions.

So, the ritual has indeed taught me a good lesson.