The Performance Review Mindset Shift
Most managers don’t love doing quarterly performance reviews. I get it, time is tight, priorities pile up, and if you’re already doing weekly 1:1s, it’s easy to think, “We’ve already covered everything, right?”
But here’s the truth: High performers crave feedback. No matter their title. No matter their tenure. We all want to know how we’re doing and more importantly, what our leader really thinks.
The best leaders I’ve worked under didn’t just send me a review to read. They walked me through it. They shared the why behind the words. It wasn’t just a task, it was a moment. A chance to affirm, challenge, and align.
So how do we make performance reviews simple, meaningful, and scalable?
Here are 3 keys:
1. Teach Your Team to Own Their Own Review
The best team members write phenomenal self-evaluations. They know their KPIs. They’ve been listening in 1:1s. They know where they’re winning and where they’re not.
If you coach your team to write strong, honest, detailed self-reviews, you won’t be starting from scratch. You’ll have a clear lens into who’s truly invested in their own growth. That’s where your energy should go. Not in writing long reviews for people who won’t put the work into themselves.
2. Use AI and 1:1 Follow-Ups to Make it Easy
I use AI tools to track all my 1:1 follow-ups. When review time comes, I’m not scrambling, I have a full log of goals, wins, gaps, and progress. (See my previous blog on the power of 1:1s and follow-up emails.)
If you’re having real conversations throughout the quarter, the review isn’t a surprise—it’s a summary. No one should be blindsided. Everyone knows where they stand and has had time to course-correct.
3. Tighten Your Rating Standards
The stronger your team gets, the tighter your scale should get.
In a healthy organization:
A 2 means “meets expectations.” It’s the job description. It’s table steaks... the price of admission onto the team.
A 3–5 is reserved for people who contribute above and beyond, who prepare for PRs, submit ideas, participate in meetings, and elevate the room.
This takes time. Moving to a culture of radical clarity and accountability takes years, not because the tools are hard, but because the transparency is.
Start With You
If this feels like a lot, here’s the challenge: Do this for two quarters yourself. Track your 1:1s. Use AI. Write your own self-review. Set the tone. Then, and only then, start requiring it from your team.
When you model it, people follow. When you reinforce it, they grow. And when enough people do it, your organization starts to move forward.
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