Being Ready for Your Appraisal

If you’ve worked at an organisation, you will already be familiar with annual appraisals. You may be reading this now because perhaps you are preparing for an upcoming appraisal. An appraisal is a meeting with your manager about your progress, successes, and struggles in your role over the past year. Appraisals help you to become a better team player and are an opportunity to speak with your manager about your goals and setbacks.

The most important part of preparing for your appraisal involves a shift in mindset. If you are the type of person who takes pride in your work and chooses to be an optimist, you could be blindsided if you don’t mentally prepare for what your appraisal may entail. Remember that the purpose of an appraisal is not only to praise your strengths and successes over the past year, but also to point out areas that need improvement.

Choose to have an open mind. Remind yourself that your manager will discuss both your strengths and weaknesses, and weaknesses are human! Only by learning about your weaknesses will you be able to grow. When your manager brings up a weakness, the human response is to get defensive. Fight the urge to defend yourself. Hear them out first, and be open to what they have to say.

After you have placed yourself in the right frame of mind, take some time to reflect on your past year. Grab a piece of paper or open up your laptop and detail some points that answer the following questions: What have you done well over the past year? What did you struggle with? How can you improve? This exercise can prepare you for what your manager has to say, and it could help you draw attention to specific points you want to discuss in your appraisal.

As you reflect on your past year, be careful not to confuse effort with impact. You may have put in a lot of effort for a project, but there may be nothing to show for it, and you should be accepting of this. It is fair to discuss your effort with your manager, but be honest about the outcome or lack thereof.

In order for an appraisal and rating of your work to be fair, it must be based on what you did, not what you intend to do. It is common for people to think that great effort warrants great reward. But if there is nothing to show for the effort, then it would be difficult to argue for a reward. However, telling your boss about your effort may help them be sympathetic towards your effort, regardless of the outcome.

Ask yourself what you would have done differently over the past year. Everyone makes mistakes, but those who learn from their mistakes are the ones who become even better. It is your choice to humble yourself, accept your mistakes, and find a way to improve.

If you are able to articulate what you have learned from your mistakes over the past year, your boss will have a much more positive opinion of you. This shows your manager that you care about your actions and are taking initiative to improve for the following year. Because of this, your manager will be more confident that you can be tasked with working on bigger and better things.

During reflection over the past year, some may try to intentionally find examples of how they have demonstrated company values. The truth is, if you are only thinking about the values now, then it is unlikely that you have actually exhibited them in your work. The purpose of company values is for them to become a day-to-day habit. It should naturally be part of daily conversations with your colleagues, and they should be mentioned during regular meetings. The easiest way for it to become part of your regular conversation is for the values to become habitual.

Although you could try, it would be difficult to make a checklist of what you should be doing to display these values. For example, if one of your values is empathy, how can you pinpoint concrete examples of how you showed empathy to a colleague or a customer? Your manager would’ve been able to pick up if you have demonstrated this value over the year.

Rather than analysing as many actions as you can remember over the past year, brainstorm ways to invite your company values into your daily life. Adopt these values to make you a better human being, and it may eventually lead to a promotion.

Manage Your Expectations

There is often a common misconception that an appraisal is the same as rating. If you think that you are walking into a rating, but it is actually an appraisal, then you may tune out valuable points and only wait to hear about how your manager rates you. Don’t let this become a lost opportunity where you could have learned about where you excelled and where you need to improve.

Some companies have delineated these discussions into two meetings: appraisal and rating. An appraisal is a broad discussion about you as a person, what you could have done better, evident strengths and weaknesses, and how you can improve. A rating is more straightforward and reveals how you are doing based on an evaluation of specific actions or targets.

Most people are obsessed with their rating. They want to quantifiably know how their manager feels about their work thus far. But if your company only has one discussion that includes both the appraisal and rating, be sure to pay attention to more than just your rating. Your appraisal gives you valuable feedback about your success and struggles over the past year.

It is easiest to manage your expectations when you go into the meeting with an open mind. Some people instinctively prepare for a debate with the manager even before they have said anything. They anticipate what their manager would say and then prepare counterpoints. This will do more harm than good because you cannot change your manager’s mind during the meeting.

The purpose of the appraisal is for your manager to inform you of how you have performed over the past year. It is not a debate or an opportunity for you to change your manager’s mind. If you try to prove your manager wrong, you are more likely to show that your manager’s judgment of you was accurate. You will only come across as a close-minded person, and you will inevitably end up reinforcing the negative feedback you have received.

Instead, go into your appraisal with an open mind and assume that your manager will add value to your life. There is always room to grow, and the more willing you are to grow, the better you will become. This is an opportunity for you to show humility and an understanding that there is always room for improvement.

There is no better way to start your appraisal than with a smile. A warm smile tells your manager that you value her feedback and are willing to listen to what she has to share with you. It shows that you are friendly and open minded, and you are looking for ways to improve your performance.

After the initial greeting and small talk, you can impress your manager by bringing up feedback from your last appraisal. You should have already prepared these notes beforehand so that you can concisely remind your manager of what they said last year and share how you have worked on improving.

Even if your manager does not remember what pointers they gave you in the last appraisal, they would feel like you value their opinions and judgment of your performance. As a result, they may even be less harsh when they give you negative feedback. Instead, your manager would give you constructive criticism and show you how you can improve over the next year.

Your Reactions Matter

As your manager begins to share their thoughts about your performance, it is important for you to pay attention to your body language and your response. Before you even start to speak, your manager will get a sense of how you are feeling by your facial expression and your posture. Regardless of the feedback you are receiving, maintain a warm and calm facial expression and an open posture.

If you are receiving positive feedback, smile and say, “Thank you!”. Even if you agree with the feedback and perhaps expected to receive positive feedback, be careful not to come across as arrogant. Accept the positive feedback with humility and thank your manager for recognising your exceptional performance.

When receiving positive feedback, it may be tempting to ask how you can be promoted. Most people work day after day with the hope that their efforts will be recognised and rewarded with a promotion. While there is nothing wrong with wanting a promotion, be careful not to use your boss as a means to getting a promotion. If you do so, your boss will then view you as merely a means to get the work done.

So instead of centering your conversation around the next promotion, ask your manager how you can improve. Be open to feedback for improvement. If you show your manager that you are willing to improve, even though you are already excelling in your job, then your manager would be more willing to guide you towards the next promotion.

You will be able to gain so much more from your relationship with your manager if it is more than just a business transaction for the next promotion. If you care for your manager as a human being and build a meaningful relationship, then they will care for you in the same way and be willing to help you achieve your career goals.

Remember that an appraisal will most likely include some negative feedback. When you receive negative feedback, your human nature may lead you to be defensive. Resist the temptation to jump up and defend yourself. Your manager has already made up their mind, and now is not the time to convince them otherwise.

It is certainly not easy to sit in your meeting and listen to negative feedback. The best way to prevent a defensive reflex is to go in with an iron resolve that you will listen to your manager before reacting. By reacting and being defensive, you only end up proving your manager right.

For example, if your manager tells you that your clarity of thinking needs improvement, and you immediately interject to defend yourself, then you are only proving your manager’s point. Instead, try to act like you were having an academic discussion about someone else. This may help you listen more openly without trying to counter every negative feedback.

It is very possible that your manager may even share negative feedback that seems unfair. First, decide to hear them out. Put yourself in your manager’s shoes and try to understand the full picture of how your manager sees you.

When it is appropriate for you to respond, start with, “I feel like this is not fair because of x, y, and z.” It is important to use the word ‘feel’ because no one can change your feelings, and your feelings are valid regardless. Your manager is more likely to be open to hearing your opinion about the negative feedback if you provide specific reasons for why the feedback feels unfair.

I have experienced people who were not pleased with the negative feedback that I shared. Instead of showing that they care to learn and grow into a better team player, they chose to tune out and look at their phones in the middle of our meeting. This only reinforced my negative feedback. It never does you any favors to be rude to your manager.

If your manager says that you are not prompt, a good manager would back up her assertion with examples. While she provides those examples, you may feel like your manager’s judgment of each scenario was not fair for reasons only known to you.

Before you jump the gun and interrupt your manager, take a step back and think about it. For example, if you really are a prompt person (except for a couple of times), it is highly unlikely that someone would have noticed over the course of the year.

So, if your manager is bringing this up in your appraisal, then perhaps you are not as prompt as you think you are. Even if you have valid reasons for your actions, you must accept the fact that you are not giving off the impression of being prompt. So, listen with humility and commit to changing your negative feedback into something positive over the next year. If your manager does not give you specific examples for the feedback they provide, you should ask for specific examples. These examples can give you a clearer picture and a broader perspective of how your manager came to a certain conclusion about your work ethic.

Challenge yourself to prove your manager wrong by your actions today. What do you want your manager to walk away with after your meeting is over? The way you respond to negative feedback will either prove her right or make them feel like perhaps they were too harsh with you. Your actions determine the outcome of your conversation.

Regardless of what kind of feedback you receive during your appraisal, be careful to control your emotions. If you are too emotional one way or the other, it could send some warning signs to your manager about how you may react or respond to certain situations in your workplace. Maintain calm composure and show your manager that you value all feedback for your growth.

Leave on a Good Note

After your manager has finished sharing feedback about your performance, direct the conversation towards your long-term career plan. You may be reluctant to speak to your manager about your future, simply because they may assume you intend to stay with the company long term where your plans might be different.

But having these conversations with your manager about your career is important. It helps them guide you towards your career goals in tangible ways. You’d be surprised at how well this conversation could end. A good manager wants to support you and provide opportunities to grow and further your career. If a suitable opportunity comes up, you may be the first employee on their mind.

If you have a plan for your career, you can share it with your manager and explain where you want to be in the near future. Then ask your manager for their opinion about how you can achieve your goals. Many managers are unaware of what their employees want to do with their careers because they have never spoken to their manager about it. The more transparent you are about your career goals, the more you will benefit.

In Google, it is mandatory for us to have a conversation with our managers about our careers every six weeks. This provides opportunities for open discussions and gives people permission to share their career aspirations. Whether or not you are in a position of influencing large-scale change in your company, it could be fruitful to initiate this conversation with your manager during your appraisal.

When your meeting is almost over, take some time to summarise what your manager has shared with you in a few concise points. You can tell your manager how you feel about the feedback, and as much as possible stay rational without getting tangled up in emotions. Highlight your key takeaways from the conversation and actions you will take to improve based on their feedback. If you are meticulous, your manager will also put in the effort to be meticulous in your appraisal, which will serve you well in the long run.

1. Reflect on Your Past Year and Jot Down Your Highs and Lows

Contemplate where you struggled and succeeded, and pay attention to how you have improved since the last appraisal. This can help you prepare for the potential feedback that you may receive, and it will show your manager that you are meticulous, and you genuinely value her feedback.

2. Always Keep an Open Mind

Enter your appraisal with an iron resolve that you will listen to your manager with humility. It is important to show your manager that you value her feedback regardless and are willing to learn and grow. Restrain yourself from the instinct to counter any negative feedback. Instead, maintain a calm composure and listen with intent.

3. Accept Feedback With Humility and Commit to Improve

After receiving feedback, show appreciation for your manager’s thoughts and list specific areas that you will work on over the next year to become a better team player. This will reinforce your manager’s feedback and set you up for greater improvement.