Annual Reviews Don’t Have to Suck

Do you enjoy doing annual reviews? 

Chances are, you don’t. And it makes sense. You only do them once a year, so it’s hard to get good at them with so little practice. 

If things are going really well, the annual review can feel like a waste of time. If things are going poorly, they can feel stressful, deflating, or even confrontational. 

But with a simple strengths-based approach, you can make your annual reviews something to look forward to, where the process is both easier AND more effective, and you’re able to help your employees transition from surviving to thriving. 

Do you make it about you, or about them? 

The concept is simple. Treat each employee as an individual with cognitive, affective, and conative needs.  

Now, chances are you’re aware of their cognitive and affective needs (although it won’t hurt to put a greater focus on either), but you may be less familiar with what they need conatively. 

Conation is the third part of the mind, and it’s all about how people operate when free to be themselves. This is a huge deal in the workplace and can readily explain many of the potential areas for growth you may want to address in your review.  

Do you know how they: 

…gather and share information? 

…organize and design? 

…deal with risk and uncertainty? 

…handle space and tangibles? 

Once you do, allowing them to solve problems and tackle tasks in their instinctive ways will make a HUGE difference. Letting your workers to lean into their natural strengths can also help them reduce their stress levels, collaborate more effectively, and increase their productivity.  

What are the keys to a successful strengths-based annual review? 

Understand your employee doesn’t have to do things the way you do them. As long as you can agree on the end result (It’s got to cost this much, be done by this date, you’ve got to hit this number, etc.) you can help them find their own path to getting to the end result you’re both looking for. Here’s three steps every manager should take for a successful annual review: 

1. Get clarity on the strengths that they possess in all three parts of the mind. Now you can coach them a little bit more effectively.  
2. Get an understanding on how they see their job. Anywhere where there is a difference between that person’s job and how they view it, there is bound to be a struggle. (For more on the misfit work epidemic, check out our Workplace Reality Report) 
3. Set clear expectations and develop actionable plans to help them use their strengths to find success. 

What does surviving look like? 

When you and your team are just trying to get through the next day, it’s hard to take stock of an entire year. In these instances (more commonplace than you’d think), annual reviews often feel rushed, vague, and uncomfortable. Feedback tends to be generic, with phrases like “do better” and “meets expectations.” 

Despite a focus on goals for improvement, people generally leave the meeting and go right back to working against their natural strengths. As a result, stress increases, performance stalls, and both you and your employee are left wanting. 

What does thriving look like? 

With a strengths-based approach and open communication, annual reviews turn into a golden opportunity to set everyone up for long-term success. Now, your feedback is specific and actionable. Strengths are clearly identified, which allows for coaching that aligns to employee strengths. Consequently, energy increases and performance improves. 

Of course, catering to the individual strengths of your team members shouldn’t be a once-a-year event! We highly recommend setting up Quarterly Conversations, which should be conducted with these same principles in mind, to ensure everyone in your organization is operating at their full potential, with effortless success and the freedom to be themselves! 

Want to know more? Check out our Quick Wins Live webinar recording all about annual reviews.