It’s the time of the year for performance reviews. And when it comes to performance reviews, you have to know how to get the best out of that review for your career growth. So, how do you prepare for a performance review in a way that you will get the best out of it and direct your career forward? Watch this video and get more information as I share with you how to prepare for your performance review and nail it.
It’s the time of year where we often have performance reviews happening. If this is you, then this video is to help you get the most out of your performance review. So the first thing to think about of your performance review is (laughs) how you’re gonna prepare, and there might be a couple of things you need to do to prepare. Actually, what you’re gonna do in the review, but it’s about how you get the most out of it. Because in essence, you’ve got 90 minutes, yeah, potentially 60 or 90, maybe even two hours, your line manager to really discuss your career and where you want it to go. So let’s think about, let’s think about the preparation beforehand. Now, if you’re gonna make the best out of this performance review, you wanna be in the most positive mental state. So, this may be and most people find feedback difficult to take, so this often means, see if you can arrange a one-to-one beforehand with your line manager, to get any feedback out of the way. Because what you don’t wanna be doing is sitting there hyper-focused on negative feedback. And when our brains get on the threat, i.e. when we have some negative feedback, we often become hyper-focused on that threat and we can’t see anything else. So the important thing is, is in one bit of your preparation is to get any feedback out of the way, so that you’re not surprised. You know, I’ve had performance reviews where I’ve ended up in tears, because of the feedback I’ve received. That’s just not helpful. The second thing is to really think about what is it you want to ask, for your career. Now, this is not just about, “oh I want to make partner, or I want to make manager, I want to make senior manager”. That’s not gonna work. What you’re looking for, is the opportunities to help develop yourself. Also, you’re looking for a conversation. So as well as preparing a list of what you’ve done well and actually that’s a great time to help put yourself in a positive mental attitude. Ya know, it’s anything where you do where you’re reviewing achievements, is instantly gonna help you feel good about yourself. The more you feel good about yourself, the better you’ll perform. So where have you done well? But the next thing is to prepare some opportunities for where you think there are business improvements. Where you think there is an opportunity maybe for your team to work better. Maybe where there are business development opportunities. So go in there with some of that stuff. Now, if you’re thinking I want to make, and i.e. you want to be promoted, go and review the competency framework. Or look at, if you don’t have that in your firm, look at where people the level you want to get to, what they’re doing, what they’re thinking. Maybe what are they acting like? What are they feeling like? Maybe what even they’re thinking and you need to find evidence where you’re already performing at that level. Now, you may find when you review yourself, that actually where you want to be, versus where you are now, is that there are some gaps. Now, within the firm, within the professions, people are always looking for people who take leadership. So do a bit of self-evaluation. You know, where could I get better in order to achieve my goals? And actually, what opportunities do I need? Who could help me bridge those gaps? And that’s what you want to take into your performance review. Now when you actually get in the performance review, if you’ve done the pre-meeting, it’s a great opportunity to fix up an agenda. But see it as a discussion. This isn’t about you being rated. You know, the whole thing about the rating you’re given, try and put that out of your performance review. This needs to be about you and what you want going forward. So yeah, go in there. Talk about your career plan. Where do you want to be in three, six, nine months? Talk about where you think you’re already there. Talk about where you’re not there. And ask for your manager’s feedback on that. Ask for their support in gaining those opportunities that you need. And actually agree, what do I, where do I want to be in the next three months. What are those tangible outcomes that I want to achieved and use that to take yourself forward to the next performance review meeting? So, just to recap. To get the most out of your performance review, think about it as preparation and then about actually what you’re gonna do in the review. Now, of course, the final bit is about following up afterward, so do jot down what you’re going to do, what they’re going to do, in an email. And then, it’s time to put those plans in place.
