Self-Performance Management Starts Before Your Manager’s Review

Most of us associate the word “Performance Management” with annual reviews, KPIs, appraisal ratings or feedback sessions with our manager.

But I’ve found that the best performance management is not the one done by a manager, it’s the one done by us.

The high-performing professionals don’t wait for their appraisals or quarterly reviews to see how they’re doing. They often ask themselves following questions:

• Am I adding measurable value?
• What did I learn new this month?
• What are the new skills I have developed?
• What am I want to achieve and for that what do I need to improve?
• How would I rate myself now if I were to look at my performance?

 

This attitude changes the way you think about performance management – from “compliance” to “growth.”

A time-tested strategy that I have seen that works is to establish individual success measures that complement organizational objectives. Business goals are what we want to accomplish, but personal metrics are the metrics that help us focus on our growth as we get there. It may be having better communication, being more strategic in decision making, mentoring teammates or learning a new skill each quarter.

Another key factor is to keep track of the victories, not just the large victories, but the small ones as well. Sometimes it’s hard to see the positive strides when we focus on the end goal. Documenting each accomplishments, learnings, and the challenges faced gives clarity during performance discussions and helps you determine the patterns to support future development.

The other thing that is crucial is to be honest about what you can do better. One of the best predictors of success in the long term is self-awareness. Recognizing your weakness doesn’t mean weaker performance but rather it is an opportunity to get better as a person before it turns into a larger problem.

In nutshells, managers can guide us and give us feedback but they cannot own our growth. The responsibility of growth is ours.

How do you measure your own performance beyond formal reviews? Share it in the comments!