If the review is a surprise, you already failed as a leader

Typical.

The annual review arrives and it's time for those difficult conversations with the people who performed poorly.

Suddenly an upset employee calls you.

“They're telling me I came in low on my goals and that it's going to affect my bonus.

But nobody ever explained how I was going to be rated.”

And then adds:

“Only now it turns out I didn't do things right.

But nobody said anything to me all year.

That doesn't seem fair to me.”

I told him:

Give me a chance to look into it and I'll get back to you.

So I talked to the leader.

And yes… at the start of the year there had been a meeting with the whole team where the expectations were presented.

But after that, nothing more.

No follow-up conversation.

No adjustment.

No warning.

Then comes the inevitable question:

Who's right?

The uncomfortable answer: both of them, to a degree.

The expectations were presented.

But there was never any follow-up.

From the moment you start seeing someone on your team falling behind, you have to have the uncomfortable conversation.

Talk about it.

Adjust it.

Document it.

Yes, remember:

if it isn't documented, it didn't happen.

That way, when the final review comes, there are no surprises.

I understand that sometimes daily operations consume us.

It's happened to me.

But for leaders there's one thing you can't let go of:

staying close to the team.

Being in constant communication.

Noticing in time when someone needs direction or support.

Reviews happen once a year.

But leadership happens every day.

One training session isn't enough to learn how to give feedback.

You learn it with practice, consistency and repetition.

And little by little, as leaders develop that judgment, they need us less and less.

And that's exactly the goal.

Reviews happen once a year.

But leadership happens every day.

When someone is surprised by their review…

the problem usually isn't the rating.

It's the silence that lasted the whole year.

Marbeel