How do you know if your organization has a performance management system? I think you know, as your body is already starting to shudder. Once a year, your boss is thrust into the dreaded “performance management cycle” and required to complete numerous performance appraisals. As he rushes to complete his appraisals en masse the Sunday night before the appraisals are due, his ratings are influenced by the rankings and bell-curve pre-established by your organization. Upon the completion of an exhausting approval process, he finally schedules a meeting with you. Following the meeting, you rush back to your cubicle, call your significant other and exclaim, “I got a 3.5 on collaboration!”
Your reaction is not your fault. You have grown up in a culture built around performance management, rating categories, and numerical rankings. If you took a moment to reflect on your life, you would recall statements similar to the following:
- Your wonder-filled days as an infant. “Your daughter is in the 98th percentile for height and the 95th percentile for weight.”
- Your wistful days as a teenager. “Your daughter has received an A in History, a B+ in Social Sciences, and an A- in Biology.”
- Your wild days as a collegiate. “Please notify your parents that your cumulative grade point average at the completion of your sophomore year is 3.25.”
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You can find Ed’s book, Raise Your Visibility & Value: Uncover the Lost Art of Connecting on the Job on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
