This is a brilliant article, talking in detail about the downfalls of the current thinking around managing performance through the use of annual, one-sided performance reviews.
If you have any interest – this Wall Street Journal article may provide a new way forwards. Here’s the high level summary:
The Promise: Performance reviews are supposed to provide an objective evaluation that helps determine pay and lets employees know where they can do better.
The Problems: That’s not most people’s experience with performance reviews. Inevitably reviews are political and subjective, and create schisms in boss-employee relationships. The link between pay and performance is tenuous at best. And the notion of objectivity is absurd; people who switch jobs often get much different evaluations from their new bosses.
The Solution: Performance previews instead of reviews. In contrast to one-side-accountable reviews, performance previews are reciprocally accountable discussions about how boss and employee are going to work together even more effectively than they did in the past. Previews weld fates together. The boss’s skin is now in the game.
This is definitely worth a read. There’s quite a conversation happening out there on the future of reviews and changing current practices. I’ll endeavour to keep you posted.
1 response so far ↓
1 John Loty // Mar 12, 2009 at 8:47 am
There is a simple Appreciative approach that seems to be quite similar to what is summarised in this post. The core idea being that work is a collaborative effort – a we thing rather than a me thing – so it makes a lot more sense to discuss how we are going. If someone I report to is prepared to be ‘fair dinkum’ and share their progress, aspirations, successes and missed opportunities then I too will do the same and we both benefit. Everyone hungers for praise and validation but we seem to be hell bent on with holding it or being tough and not even acknowledging this deep hunger. Of course the form of praise or acknowledgement will vary according to individuals own styles etc.
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