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How to Handle a Bad Performance Review | Dodging Landmines

It's not easy to receive criticism from your manager, even if it's constructive. But Roberta "Bobbie" LaPorte, a career and leadership coach, says you can turn a negative performance review into an opportunity to enhance your skills and reflect on your career.

Speaker: Sumi Das

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Tags: Performance, Professional Development, Performance Management, Career, Workforce Management, Dodging Landmines, Bobbie LaPorte, performance review, human resources, manager

 
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  •  
    1

    TAR5231

    08/21/09 | Report as spam

    RE: How to Handle a Bad Performance Review | Dodging Landmines

    Conducting reviews are never easy and most employees view them as some sort of "beat down" or figure it to be just another set of reasons why they won't be given "raises" they expect.

    We are in the midst of changing the review process so that at the beginning of the year we tell everyone HOW TO GET AN A and then follow up with quarterly one on ones. So at the annual review there are no surprises.

    I do feel for those companies who have great employees BUT due to economic times cannot give raises. Some employees just don't understand it's either no raises or no jobs.

  •  
    2

    r?mulo

    08/26/09 | Report as spam

    RE: How to Handle a Bad Performance Review | Dodging Landmines

    Good advice, that happens and that is the right way to
    handle.

    Would be useful also to address when you recieve a negative
    performance review that is incorrect, when the manager is
    just having personality problems and do not have evidence
    about the bad performance, just judgments based on bad
    emotions, and biases facts, because he really does not want
    you to be successful.

    That happens also and it is more difficult to handle.

  •  
    3

    babygalsg

    08/27/09 | Report as spam

    RE: How to Handle a Bad Performance Review | Dodging Landmines

    I agree with r?mulo to a certain point that some managers judge based on their bad emotions . Mostly these managers do not want to review the good performances but only considers their negative review. They basically will shut their ears and their judgement is normally not reversible and is the final one.
    These kind of negative judgement is made known only when payouts are made and at that time it is too late for the employee. The employee is not given time at all to react or justify what went wrong is not his/her mistake.
    Overall, the employee is the one who is at the losing end because the good work performance is not being rewarded accordingly, instead gets a bad performance review.
    In my opinion, it is not wrong to speak up when you think you have proper evidence to back you up. As an employee,you need to voice out to project out the actual facts and not always be submissive/passive.Of course, when you voice out, you need to be polite and diplomatic and not jeopardize your image and position.

  •  
    4

    Kittitian

    09/07/09 | Report as spam

    RE: How to Handle a Bad Performance Review | Dodging Landmines

    Fundamental but useful remeinders - especailly when a negative review is driven by emotion and not substantiated facts

  •  
    5

    ivana235

    10/02/09 | Report as spam

    RE: How to Handle a Bad Performance Review | Dodging Landmines

    "As long as you are successful, your manager is successful too."

    I consider myself utopian by heart, but unfortunately we have to face the harsh reality.

    This is the first time I see this video, and it actually reminded me of a situation I went through myself.
    I am an outstanding performer for everyone else (documented) except for my supervisor (who had the exclusive right to do my annual appraisal).
    She made a brief formal comment about my excellent performance, and wrote even more BUT!-s that did not sound fair at all and I responsibly claim that they did neither serve as "incentives" as she defined them, nor they contributed to my overall performance. Not even 1%.
    I did absolutely everything that was mentioned in this video - my boss could not cope with my solid, calmed and informed arguments and decided to use the opportunity of a director who was about to leave the organization.
    Being totally disinterested for the work he had for remaining 2 weeks, he told me that he has a person whom he has put to do the work of appraisal and whom he trusts.

    So what avails with such people.

    This is OK only for reasonable managers. Blessed be those.

  •  
    6

    prshri

    10/06/09 | Report as spam

    RE: How to Handle a Bad Performance Review | Dodging Landmines

    Quality of Managers can vary. Some can be highly competent and some not so good!

    But when you get stuck in a team where your manager is'nt fair, then the 'last resort' is to move.....either to another manager's team within the same company or to another organisation!

    And lets not look to win an argument with the current manager! Surely, one should put the facts to him and tell him why you feel that the appraisal should be better ;and leave it there!

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How to Handle a Bad Performance Review | Dodging Landmines

It's not easy to receive criticism from your manager, even if it's constructive. But Roberta "Bobbie" LaPorte, a career and leadership coach, says you can turn a negative performance review into an opportunity to enhance your skills and reflect on your career.

Music

>> So I've just received a negative performance review from my manager and it's really taken me by surprise. I'm not sure how to respond. What should I do?

>> Wow well the first thing would be to don't react and not blame anybody.

>> Of course that's the typical initial reaction.

>> Exactly. You want to blame somebody but it's really important to just be very calm and to just step back and look at this as an opportunity really to sit down with your manager and say, "So what do I need to do to improve my performance moving forward?"

>> How do I do that? How do I address this review?

>> So the first step would be to just sit down and develop a list of all of your accomplishments over the last year. It's also a great way for you to be able to set the stage for this conversation with your manager. So look at everything you've accomplished but also look at things you may have missed the mark on.

>> Which is a little more difficult. You have to be very honest with yourself.

>> Exactly. So you want to create a real comprehensive but objective view of your performance from your perspective. And then ask your manager for a time to sit down and take a look at it together.

>> What if I do that? My manager listens but still feels that the negative performance review stands and is warranted. What's my next step after that?

>> Well that's a different conversation to have with your manager; but what I would suggest you do is ask for specifics. Sometimes your manager will say, "Well you performance doesn't meet the mark." You want to get very specific about the things that you need to do to improve your performance. So for example if you're in an engineering role, you don't want to just ask about the technical things that you need to do to be successful on your job but you also need to ask your manager, "What is it that I need to do to be able to get along better with my co-workers?" Or maybe work as a team, or if you're managing people, "How should I improve my managing skills," and make sure you get a full comprehensive view of the things that they feel you need to improve your performance on; and then set a timeframe with your manager to discuss this going forward. The important thing is, again, is don't be defensive. Your manager wants you to be successful right because if you're successful he looks good.

>> In summary?

>> In summary no one likes performance plans but this is an opportunity really to have a dialogue with your manager, to be able to understand what it is that it would take for you to improve your performance and get that next promotion; and then honestly it's also an opportunity for you to think is this where I really want to be? And this may be the time for you to be thinking about looking someplace else that's a better fit with your career goals.

==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====