What’s the point of a self review?

As a manager, your direct reports’ self assessments are the best way to check your own performance when it comes to setting expectations and delivering feedback. If you read through a self assessment and walk away surprised, you need to change something.

Let’s not pretend that self assessments aren’t a (big) pain to write. They can take a long time, and it might feel awkward to craft what’s essentially a brag sheet talking about how great you are. They can also often feel repetitive, like you’re just rehashing stuff you’ve talked about already. This is actually a great thing. There is a time and a place for a surprise, but a performance review isn’t one of them. If everything in the assessment and review feels repetitive, it means you’re communicating well, celebrating wins, or addressing issues as they come up.

I ask my direct reports to submit their self assessments to me at least a day or two before we have a formal performance conversation, and I hold myself to that same schedule when I have a conversation with my own boss. Seeing the self assessment beforehand is a great way to prep for the conversation. Are you aligned on performance? Or are there surprises in there that you need to address?

I also recommend keeping a brag sheet! I have one for myself and one for each of my reports. It’s easier to add each win to an ongoing notes document than to spend hours racking your brain about what happened in the last review cycle.

Have a Management Query? Let me know at questions@lauratacho.com or on Twitter.