How to Review a Human Part 1 of 4: The Pre-Flight Check-in

Organizations, big and small, are shifting to real-time performance management. In the end, it has far more to do with what happens in those review conversations — what they feel like from the perspective of the employee — that really matters.

How do you make a performance review humane? It starts and ends by remembering that you are talking to a vulnerable human being, who has chosen to put their trust in you, as their manager.

Step 1: Your review starts before the performance review meeting.

Block out time for yourself to step back, consider the last six months, using these questions as your guide:

• The most important contribution they made to the team so far this year was that they _____. Specifically, they make our team better by _____.
• The area where they've shown significant improvement over the past six months is in _____.
• Based on my observations, the development theme I'm noticing is _____. Working on this theme might look like _____.
• Zooming out, if the second half of the year went roughly the same, I would say they had a _____ year.

Step 2: Take stock of your contribution.

If you're serious about developing as a leader, you have to accept that your development areas have an impact on the performance of your team.

• Knowing myself as I do, the thing I did that made it challenging for them to be at their best so far this year was _____.
• As I reflect on the feedback I've given so far about their performance, the truth is that I haven't done enough in real-time to highlight when they _____.
• Thinking about the team, the thing about the way we work that is making it challenging for them to show up as the best version of themselves is _____.

The highest value of a formal periodic review is that it's an opportunity for you to have a considerable and direct impact on how your employees hear the messages and move forward in their growth journey.