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A recent BusinessWeek article reported that
90% of the nation's managers think they're in the top 10% of performers
in their workplace.
There's clearly a disconnect here, though it’s nice to know
we're such a confident group.
What causes this sort of optimism? I wonder if part of it is
survey-induced. There's a natural tendency to try to look good, especially when
there's no downside.
More dangerous to individual careers, though, is the fact of
performance-review politeness. All too often, managers sugar-coat written performance
evaluations, usually for one (or more) of these four reasons.
Fear
What if she gets mad? What if she yells? What
if she cries? What if she goes to HR and complains about me? What if she stops
working on this critical project?
Compassion
I don't want to put anything negative in his
permanent employee record — it might haunt him forever. I know he's just bought
a house — I don't want to impact his raise right now when he really needs it.
He's a nice person, and smart, too; he's going through a learning curve at
the moment, but he'll figure it out.
Overwhelm
If I write something negative, I'll have to put
her on a performance improvement plan. I'll have to write up the whole thing for
HR, and we'll have to have weekly meetings, with written notes, and a three-month
interim review, and another one at six months. I don't have time
for all that!
Expedience
He knows one of the board members — I've
seen them out for lunch, and I know they go golfing together. I don't know what
might happen to my career if I write a bad review. And
wouldn't it be cool if he said good things about me to the board!
So as an employee, how can you be sure you're getting honest feedback
from your manager, so that the next time BusinessWeek asks,
you'll know you're in the top 10%?
Simple. Ask!
But don't just run into her office and blurt it out. Here are six
steps for setting the stage, making it safe for your manager and
yourself, so you can get the feedback you want in ways that you can use.
Be sure you really want to know
Don't ask questions you
don't want answered. If you're not sure you want to know what your manager
thinks, first figure out why you're feeling uneasy. He may legitimately not have
earned your trust — or you may secretly know you're not performing to the
standard you'd prefer. Either way, now may not be the time for you to ask.
Don't roll it into your regular review
By stepping outside the regular review process, you side-step all the reasons why your
manager might give you less than complete feedback. Yes, you want to encourage her to
"tell it like it is" in your review, but if she's not, that's not the
time to push the point. Instead, approach her outside the review cycle when she's not
in the review mindset.
Explain why you want to know
You don't want him to think you're feeling insecure. He might start wondering if
there's a reason for it! You do want to give him as
much information as he needs to give you solid, useful feedback. So why do you want
that feedback? How do you see yourself growing, doing things differently, and being
better at your job? What improved support might you offer him and the company as a whole?
You may not have specific details since you don't know what he'll say, but you can
— and should — have a general idea.
Explain what you want to know
Asking the general question, "Hey, boss, how'm I doing?" isn't useful,
and is more likely to annoy her as a time-waster than impress her with your desire to grow.
What do you want feedback about? Your own management abilities with your team? How
you handle other areas' requests for assistance? Whether you're providing the
right financial reports in the most useful format? Go in with a clear and specific
question, and you'll get a clear and specific response. You can always ask at the end
if there's anything else she'd like to comment on.
Ask for a meeting
Don't make a big deal out of it, but do
request time when you know you'll have his full attention. Catching him in the hallway
or popping into his office informally doesn't allow him time to prepare or to focus.
Your question is almost certain to surprise him, especially if he's used to a little bit
of sugar-coating. Be sure to explain why and
what when you request the meeting, so he has a chance to prepare.
Getting good, useful feedback is as much an
art form as giving good, useful feedback. Whether you're
giving or getting, these tips will help. And drop me an email to let me know how it goes!
"Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly
from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger."
Franklin P. Jones, American businessman, 1887 - 1929.
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About the Author: Grace Judson is an
executive coach and business consultant with more than two decades of experience in
strategic planning, coaching, business planning, and tactical execution. She specializes
in corporate politics and culture issues, and is especially interested in gender politics
and the issues of women and gender role expectations in the workplace. For more
information, go to:
www.svahaconcepts.com.
© 2007 Grace L. Judson. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted here with permission
granted by the author.
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