Tell Your Story or Someone Else Will, Inaccurately

As we enter the second full week of July, midway through the year, you may not be ready to even think about having your mid-your performance appraisal nor writing a self-assessment.

The unprecedented pandemic of Covid-19 has changed the business landscape, driven rocky unemployment rates, and drastically changed the economic outlook. It has significantly altered social norms and life at home for all of us. Add to that the awakened demand for social justice, and it is easy to understand how one might not see a mid-year appraisal as a priority right now. Trust me; I get it.

However, try to reframe this as telling your story. As a fan of keeping things simple, here are five steps (FAVOR) to help you prepare.

Facts:

• What were you asked to do (the goals)?
• What was the situation when you began (the starting point)?
• What is the situation now (the ending point)?

Actions:

• What actions did you take to drive the change from the starting point to the ending point? Write in narrative form to ensure you don’t miss any details.
• Consider all partnership work. Who did you collaborate with, whether acting as an individual contributor, leading others, or influencing others, internally and externally?
• Did you create or alter anything (e.g. systems or processes)?

Value:

• “Zoom out” and take a few steps back.
• What value did the actions produce (e.g., a unit, department, or otherwise)?
• How can you express that value (e.g., throughput, reduced steps in a process, cost savings, or increased sales and revenue)?

Obstacles:

• What unexpected challenges did you face? What did you do to overcome those challenges?
• What did you learn about yourself during this time?
• What did you learn about the organization during this time?
• What out of scope work did you deliver to get to the ending point (we almost always deliver out of scope work and in many cases fail to take credit for it)?

Recurring

• Beyond this year, what are the on-going (year-over-year) benefits of the value you created? Express it numerically, if possible. I would suggest a three-year number.

I hope this helps. Happy writing!

James