How to Effectively Conduct Performance Reviews

The best leaders understand that they can control culture, performance, and execution, so they focus on them.

When it comes to performance, they reflect on it, strategize around it, modify actions to change it, talk about it, and then do it again the next day.

So, instead of being mad at Human Resources for making you do performance reviews, you would be better served to focus on how to do them more effectively.

If you care about performance, this week is for you:

One of my favorite leadership quotes comes from Napoleon. He said, “A leader’s job is to define reality and deliver hope.” Part of your job as a leader is to define reality for your team members by sharing the truth about how they are doing and what they can do to improve.

Shed light on the truth so team members have a chance to change.

What it means:

Imagine playing on an NFL team and only finding out how the team is doing once a year. It would make the games less meaningful and make it challenging to determine what adjustments must be made. Unfortunately, the annual performance review is a lot like this.

To counterbalance this, you should always wear your coaching hat, constantly looking for ways to help someone achieve higher levels of excellence.

While initially assessing past performance and using traditional performance review tools to objectively rate how well an employee is performing in his or her position is essential, the best leaders focus their attention on the future. They lean into goal setting, personal development, and career planning.

This type of approach ensures the focus is on continual improvement and a growth mindset.

Have a day,

John Eades | CEO LearnLoft

P.S. I received so many responses to last week’s question you must ask AI. I read every one of them and they inspired me.

How the Best Leaders Conduct Effective Performance Reviews (Blog)

Performance Review Toolkit (Free Download)

Lessons From the Story of the Mexican Fisherman (Podcast)

The Leadership Growth Plan (Coming Soon!)

Do your employees have a plan for their growth? Do they leave their annual review without a defined strategy to achieve their goals and improve their skills? Are you hoping your employees grow but aren’t sure how to track it?

Stop hoping your employees grow; provide them with a smart digital plan. Introducing the Leadership Growth Plan. The Growth Plan offers employees:

1. Personalized Guidance

2. Actionable Resources

3. Proven Leadership Tools

4. Smart Reminders

5. Dynamic Content Suggestions

6. Encouragement and Challenges

Here are some ways we could work together:

Skill Mastery Workshops- Sometimes, your managers don’t need transformation, they need a transaction. They are struggling in one skill area essential to performance and productivity, and providing them with a learning opportunity is all they need. Now is an excellent time to develop key leadership skills. Here are some recent workshop content:

Ready to provide laser-focused learning opportunities? See if a Skill Mastery Workshop is right for your organization.

1:1 Executive Leadership Coaching—Get 1:1 coaching to improve performance. Coaching programs are six months long and include a LearnLoft-certified coach. They are perfect for one executive or a group of executives who aren’t meeting their potential.

Speaking and Workshops- We’re now booking keynotes and Workshops for Q4 and Q1. Reply to this note or fill out the form here, and our team will be in touch to discuss topics, availability, and pricing.