Performance reviews and year end conversations are ramping up around the world, which makes a lot of us uneasy because the experience can be clunky (HR systems aren’t slick like apps), emotional (money and personal identity are on the line!), and one-sided (managers rarely ask more and tell less). Here’s how to have better year end conversations.

A Star Wars Performance Review Story

Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker opens around the world tomorrow and I’ve been listening to The Ringer’s “Binge Mode” podcast to prepare myself for the experience. The Empire Strikes Back episode was chock full of performance review content (maybe Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion have year end conversations on their mind?). These two examples got me thinking about what goes into good year end conversations and how we can all get better at them.

Darth Vader addresses a pattern of failure

Pros of this example

• Vader listens (briefly) to an alternative perspective of Admiral Ozzel’s decision-making
• Feedback happens in the moment and the process is transparent
• The “last time” comment indicates a pattern of behaviour that has been documented and addressed
• There is a succession plan in place
• Technology is leveraged effectively

Cons of this example

• Others participating in the experience are clearly uncomfortable with such radical transparency
• Force choking someone is not appropriate, even in the Galactic Empire

Yoda treats failing as, well, failing

Pros of this example

• He starts with a question, which allows Luke to take ownership of the conversation
• Lifting the X-Wing is a concrete example of doing the work (these kind of examples help to get everyone on the same page)
• Yoda models the desired behaviour in a way that’s mostly testable by his apprentice, even though it’s really hard
• When Luke says, “I don’t believe it” and Yoda responds with “that is why you fail” we see a great example of direct and concrete observation that gets to a core challenge that is holding the apprentice/employee back from realizing their potential

Cons of this example

• “There is no try” has evolved into an iconic phrase, but it’s ridiculous (how can we just do something that we’ve never tried)
• When Luke says, “I don’t believe it” and Yoda responds with “that is why you fail” it’s a devastating burn and absent of anything helpful, “…which is why I want to share some ideas about building a growth mindset as part of the learning from this experience.”

Have better year end conversations

It’s a highlight reel

A review shouldn’t contain many surprises and year end conversations shouldn’t be the first time that an employee hears about specific failures or general problems with their performance. Critical feedback should come in the moment, just like it did from Vader and Yoda, and if patterns emerge then such themes should certainly be addressed in a year end review. Mostly, year end conversations should be like two people watching highlights from an athlete or a supercut of hilarious quips from a comedian.

Questions to ask or be asked:

• What was your greatest accomplishment this year?
• What about your performance makes you proudest?

Crowdsource feedback

Year end reviews are rampant with bias. Gathering feedback from folks is a simple and effective way to shift perspective and uncover new insights – it works well for employees who are preparing for a year end conversation as well as managers who are evaluating their talent by reflecting on their performance throughout the year. By listening to data from other sources it can raise your awareness, but just be careful that you pick people who legitimately have a different perspective, as opposed to fanboys or naysayers who might just validate the way you see things.

Questions to ask or be asked:

• How do you think your teammates saw your contributions to this project?
• What would [INSERT BIAS-MITIGATING PERSON] say about your performance this year?

Failing is learning

Rarely does someone make it through the year with a perfect track record – we’re bound to fail in big and small ways. My background is in learning and development, so it’s natural for me to frame failure (losing a top client, accidentally publishing a draft digital campaign, preparing incorrect documents) as learning moments. We learn when we reflect on experiences and often failure is our greatest teacher, so if there is a chance to discuss mistakes (not to mention the psychological safety to make folks comfortable) then your year end conversation will be richer.

Questions to ask or be asked:

• What’s your greatest learning from the year?
• If you had the chance, what would you do-over or do differently knowing what you know now?

Stop talking, managers

My general, unscientific rule is that managers should do about 30% of the talking during year end reviews. After all, it’s difficult to run through a highlight reel of achievements if someone else is doing most of the talking. The science is clear that we can actually get energy and focus on the conversation by listening deeply, as opposed to waiting for our turn to respond to a statement and asserting our point of view.

Questions to ask and be asked:

• Tell me more
• [SILENCE]

Make it concrete

When we speak in generalities, metaphors or about peoples’ character or style it rarely provides the information required to understand the opportunity to improve or continue growing. Even compliments should be specific and concrete. Instead of offering general commentary such as, “you aren’t super-consistent at making deadlines” try re-phrasing the example to sound something like this: “when you wait until the day before a deadline to share your work it makes it hard for the team to understand your thinking and create the right materials to support the work, which is what happened during the [INSERT PROJECT HERE].”

Questions to ask or be asked:

• Walk me through the details of your most impressive project. What made the biggest impact for our stakeholders?
• What’s one thing about your working style that needs to change? What should never change?

Feedforward

We can change the future. We can’t change the past. While it’s useful to reflect on experiences in order to understand what happened and what we learned, it’s equally important to envision a positive future. Be sure to wrap up year end conversations with an eye to what happens next by positively projecting the strengths and accomplishments on which to build and/or by framing some key areas for development and growth.

Questions to ask or be asked:

• What will you do with the information and learning that’s come up in this conversation?
• What are your goals for the year ahead?
• What’s your biggest takeaway from this conversation?

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This article was originally published on December 18, 2019.