As The Boss, one of your key responsibilities is to develop your direct reports. This happens at review time and in between. It takes work and it’s not easy.
Are your direct reports involved in the process?
None of us sees everything people are doing all the time, but by giving our direct reports a set of guidelines to get their input, our job becomes much easier and it forces our team to take some ownership for their performance and their results. To help you, may I suggest you share the following prompters with your team? You can copy and paste these into a document and hand it to each of your direct reports and have them fill this out before your next one-on-one meeting:
- Here’s what I observed that YOU to know about. Here’s what I see as barriers to my success. This is their opportunity to let you know about process problems and in some cases (without tattling), people problems they are struggling with.
- Here is what I’ve been working on. This is where they can list the projects they’re working. You probably know this already but it helps to get them involved.
- Here is what I’ve accomplished (measurable). If you’re using the SMART goal format, this is where they can tell you what they’ve accomplished towards the goal. It also gives them a chance to tell you any customer accolades they’ve received.
- Here is what I need from you to be successful. This is similar to #1 but it opens up the opportunity to have career development conversations.
- What can I do to make you more successful? This one is for you! I caution you on actually using this one but why not use it yourself for your one-on-one meeting with YOUR Boss?
Self-assessments are an important part of any review. By giving your team these prompters and some time to complete them before the meeting, your chances of having a productive conversation increases significantly.