{"id":30338,"date":"2023-12-05T11:21:58","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T10:21:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/benelux.vps.buzztestserver.co.uk\/en\/?post_type=resources&p=30338"},"modified":"2024-09-04T11:03:12","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T09:03:12","slug":"5-essential-questions-to-prepare-for-your-review","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/benelux.vps.buzztestserver.co.uk\/en\/resources\/5-essential-questions-to-prepare-for-your-review\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Essential Questions to Prepare for Your Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article originally appeared on Microlearning<\/a>, our bite-sized online solution for leaders and individual contributors.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Too often, performance reviews spark dread for everyone. Some managers view them as an extra pile of administrative work and rush through them half-heartedly. And many team members cringe as they try to sum up a year of hard work in a generic self-evaluation and fear a surprise low score from their bosses.<\/p>\n

But you\u2019re more than a 1 to 5 rating in four dimensions\u2014and a little preparation can help you be sure that your manager understands your true value (or even why you deserve a raise or promotion). Start by considering these questions\u2014and including specific examples in each area to illustrate your impact.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. How well did I accomplish my goals\u2014and what impact did I make?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A lot can happen in a year\u2014projects start and end, teams pivot, plans change. Does your manager remember how you\u2019ve met or exceeded your goals and been indispensable? Do you?<\/p>\n

Look back through wherever you track your work (e.g., your inbox, notes, calendar, etc.) to list your main accomplishments over the past year. (And start a running list of achievements now to keep track for next year\u2019s review.)<\/p>\n

Pare down your list to the areas where your work made the biggest impact for your team or company and the areas your manager cares a lot about\u2014after all, they\u2019re the judge and jury in your review.<\/p>\n

For each achievement, describe what you set out to do, what happened, and the difference it made in terms of quality, efficiency, or some other factor important to your work, team, or company. If your goal can be quantified, share the numbers (e.g.,\u00a0\u201cMy goal was to boost readership by 25 percent, and I increased it by 40 percent\u201d<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0\u201cI had a stretch goal of selling 1,000 copies and I met it\u201d<\/em>), but if not, that\u2019s OK\u2014impact isn\u2019t always about the numbers.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

\u201cMy aim was to rewrite our volunteer guidelines to make them shorter and clearer. I cut them from 15 pages to four. I used to get questions from volunteers about once a day, but now it\u2019s about once a week. Not only are the guidelines less confusing for volunteers but getting fewer questions saves me time, too.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

And if you think your manager isn\u2019t personally invested in an important goal of yours, consider framing your achievement in a way that shows how your work benefited your manager or enabled the team to take on something else.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

\u201cI handled project X entirely\u2014from initial concept through client delivery\u2014which let you and others focus on our new initiative.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. How did my collaboration with others make an impact?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Maybe you saved a colleague time by removing a roadblock or taught your team a skill that they put to good use. Explaining these contributions shows your boss that you\u2019re a team player who cares about the greater good, not just your personal collection of gold stars.<\/p>\n

Self-review forms often ask how you demonstrated teamwork or collaboration, so it\u2019s worth gathering examples. Even if some come to mind, reach out to colleagues for whom you think you\u2019ve made a difference. You\u2019ll gather better details and be able to craft a more compelling story\u2014and you just may learn that you helped in ways you didn\u2019t even realize.<\/p>\n

Ask questions like\u00a0\u201cHow have I helped you meet your goals?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0and \u201cHow has my work or contribution made a difference for you?\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Then, ask if you can cite them when you talk to your manager so their testimonials add weight to your case.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the legal team was stretched thin working on their biggest cases of the year, I helped them finish their backlog of briefs in just two weeks. Franklin said that they would not have met the court\u2019s filing deadline without me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

3. How have I gone above and beyond my job description?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Maybe you stepped up to lead your team\u2019s Big New Initiative. Or, you filled the void left by a key team member\u2019s departure by taking on one of their responsibilities. Your manager may have been thrilled to get the problem solved, but don\u2019t expect them to remember at review time that your new duty is a level up from what you previously handled. Remind them. You\u2019ll demonstrate your commitment to personal growth and team success\u2014and show evidence that you\u2019re on a path toward a promotion.<\/p>\n

Include in your explanation:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • How the work you\u2019re doing now goes beyond what you were doing before (e.g.,\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m a junior sales associate, but I consistently manage accounts the size of those senior sales associates typically handle\u201d<\/em>)<\/li>\n
  • How long you\u2019ve been doing this new work (e.g.,\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve been managing these larger accounts for eight months\u201d<\/em>)<\/li>\n
  • The impact of your contributions (e.g.,\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve brought in $50,000 more than my junior associate\u2013level quota\u2014and the team avoided having to hire a new senior staff member\u201d<\/em>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    4. <\/strong>How did I respond to the challenges I faced?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    It\u2019s one thing to tell your manager \u201cI\u2019m a resilient, adaptable, problem-solver!\u201d but another to vividly show them. Crafting a narrative about obstacles that made it difficult or impossible for you to meet a goal is particularly important. What you say can help you shift your boss\u2019s perception from \u201cYikes, that was bad\u201d to \u201cWow, I\u2019m impressed by how you handled that\u201d\u2014even if you don\u2019t have exciting stats to back you up.<\/p>\n

    Walk your manager through the challenges you faced: What was harder or different from what you expected? What were the steps you took or the sacrifices you made to overcome the challenges or make the best of the situation? What was the outcome and how could it have been different if you hadn\u2019t stepped up?<\/p>\n

    For example:<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhen production delays on another team caused our group to fall behind on project X, I was able to shift some of my tasks so I could spend more time on it. I worked a few late nights, but in the end, we delivered everything the client asked for\u2014and we didn\u2019t jeopardize the client relationship by missing our deadline.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    But what if it was your misjudgment\u2014not an external force\u2014that led to a setback or failure? Proactively bringing it up shows that you\u2019re self-aware and gives you a chance to focus the story on lessons learned for next time.<\/p>\n

    For example:<\/p>\n

    \u201cI underestimated how long this renovation would take, which led to cost overruns. In the future, I will talk to the on-site contractors to help me set a more realistic timeline and to hire additional help earlier in the process.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    5. <\/strong>How did I use redirecting feedback I received to improve?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Chances are, you know of a few areas where you need to improve (you and your manager may have discussed them). So, don\u2019t wait for your manager to tick off the list of \u201careas for improvement\u201d during your review. Get ahead of the story so you can say, \u201cLook at everything I\u2019ve done to get better at X!\u201d<\/p>\n

    Point out how you\u2019ve improved in ways your manager may not know. And you could admit what you still need to improve, which shows that you\u2019re not trying to highlight the positives and ignore the negatives\u2014which lends credibility to everything else you\u2019ve said in your review.<\/p>\n

    Explain the specific feedback you received, the steps you took to address it, what you learned from the process, and what you will continue to do to improve.<\/p>\n

    For example:<\/p>\n

    \u201cI\u2019ve received feedback that my emails can come across as rude or demanding. So, I\u2019ve been adding more courteous language, and I\u2019ve asked some of my teammates for feedback on specific messages. I\u2019ve learned that how you approach people in writing is really important for building strong working relationships.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    This article originally appeared on Microlearning, our bite-sized online solution for leaders and individual contributors. Too often, performance reviews spark dread for everyone. Some managers view them as an extra pile of administrative work and rush through them half-heartedly. And many team members cringe as they try to sum up a year of hard work in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":30340,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-30338","resources","type-resources","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","type-newsletters"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n5 Questions to Prepare for Your Review | FranklinCovey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Performance reviews often spark dread for everyone. Preparation can help you be sure that your manager understands your true value. Start with these questions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/benelux.vps.buzztestserver.co.uk\/en\/resources\/5-essential-questions-to-prepare-for-your-review\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Essential Questions to Prepare for Your Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Performance reviews often spark dread for everyone. Preparation can help you be sure that your manager understands your true value. 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