{"id":8171,"date":"2020-04-29T16:14:18","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T16:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monsterindia.com\/career-advice\/think-your-performance-review-was-unfair-heres-what-you-should-do-8171\/"},"modified":"2023-03-23T11:49:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T06:19:37","slug":"think-your-performance-review-was-unfair-heres-what-you-should-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/think-your-performance-review-was-unfair-heres-what-you-should-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Think your performance review was unfair? Here’s what you should do"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Quick question: what comes to mind when you hear the words \u201cappraisal time\u201d? Salary hike? Promotion? New office? Or cringe-inducing feedback that you think you don\u2019t deserve? <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bummer of a review, one that banishes you to the bottom 20 percent of the performance chain, can be hard to deal with, especially if you were blindsided. But chances are you will have to deal with it, at least a couple of times during your career, whether you\u2019re a junior, mid-level, or senior employee. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sheila Heen, who has authored Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well, says: \u201cAlways getting a glowing review means that you\u2019re not challenging yourself.\u201d She believes that critical input can be \u201ca signal that you\u2019re tackling things that are stretching you\u201d. That may be so, but a negative performance review can throw you off-guard. How can you deal with it and ensure you don\u2019t let it affect your performance this year? <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You may find this helpful:<\/strong> 7 Tips to Ensure a Cool Performance Review<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dick Grote, the author of How to Be Good at Performance Appraisals, in an article for Harvard Business Review has a step-by-step guide to reacting to a negative appraisal: \u201cWhether the critic is a boss or a co-worker, the same familiar guidance is consistently presented: Listen carefully, don\u2019t get defensive, ask for time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try these steps to ensure you take the sting out of the negative feedback and make it work for you: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try to be objective<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n


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Nobody likes to be called out, but make it a point to listen to what your boss has to say. Mark Murphy, founder of Leadership IQ and author of Hiring for Attitude, writes: \u201cBeing able to accept feedback requires a modicum of critical self-awareness.\u201d It may seem hurtful but be ready for criticism; being a little thick skinned may help. You may feel emotional, but you don\u2019t need to go around showing it. \u201cWhat the most effective accepters of constructive feedback do is listen more carefully to hear the one fact in there. In that sense, I think you can call it thick skin. They almost have a mental shield. They compartmentalize it, take what\u2019s useful, and move on,\u201d Murphy believes. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A bad review doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re a failure. Read more:<\/strong> Here are 3 ways to overcome fear of failure in your career<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Take a new perspective<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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It’s not going to be easy, but think of negative feedback as a data point instead of considering it as condemnation. It will be easier to process and then action over the next few months. \u201c[If] feedback is viewed as one more point of data to assimilate, to analyze, to allow you to make a better decision, then it\u2019s not so emotional. And that\u2019s one of the major lessons about feedback: people who are best at it, de-personalize it. They view it as information. That\u2019s all it is,\u201d Murphy says. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow up on the review<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n


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The natural tendency when you get a negative review\u2014especially if unexpected \u2014is to fight or consider leaving the firm. However, career and executive coach Kate O\u2019Sullivan argues against this and suggests getting more insight. \u201cSet a follow-up meeting [with the supervisor], and ask for examples of the weaknesses they brought up, and come prepared with your own examples and talking points. Try to keep an open mind in this discussion\u2014shutting down or getting defensive will make it much more difficult to have an open and productive dialogue,\u201d she says. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Question yourself<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n


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Your opinion of your performance over the last year may vary from your supervisor\u2019s perception, but it\u2019s important to try and find your blind spots. Ask yourself tough questions: Have I heard this before? Could this be right? Have I come across this criticism earlier? \u201cWe need other people to help us see ourselves,\u201d Heen says. \u201cThink about talking to friends who can help you learn from the feedback, rather than simply reinforce your self-perception,\u201d Heen adds. Self-reflection could help you realize the path you need to walk on from now. \u201cYou might find that in fact you do have some blind spots or things you could have approached differently, and your boss will likely find that they were missing some key information as well,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan says.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some questions you might be asking yourself in a situation like this: <\/strong>20 questions that can take you from ‘woulda coulda shoulda’ to #GoOutAndBe<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Give yourself time<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n


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A knee-jerk reaction \u2013 be it reacting emotionally or retaliating by putting in your papers \u2013 is childish. Give yourself time to process the review, self-assessment, the follow-up conversation and others\u2019 inputs of others. Experts say stepping back from the conversation can help you analyze the feedback and focus on the facts, which often tend to get overshadowed by emotions. \u201cThe most important point is to give yourself time to calm down emotionally so that you can see your options in the situation rationally, and to get a variety of viewpoints so you can step back and see the bigger picture,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan believes. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read this to learn more about achieving your true potential:<\/strong> Feeling held back at work? 4 ways to achieve your true potential
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Draw up a performance plan<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n


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The purpose of all feedback is to help you improve your performance; if the latest one hasn\u2019t been up to the mark, it may necessitate a detailed plan of action. Speak to your manager on what you need to do to make changes. Do you need to reprioritize your tasks, learn new skills, or focus on team building? Set yourself a deadline \u2013 be it a month or three \u2013 to experiment and do things differently. Mitchell Marks, president of the consultancy JoiningForces.org, suggests seeking an interim review with your manager to make sure that you\u2019re making the performance improvements that you want to make. \u201cAsk your boss if you can set a date now for a meeting in three or six months,\u201d he says. This will ensure your performance meets everyone\u2019s expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some tips on improving your chances of a raise:<\/strong> 5 tips to get the raise you deserve
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Reconsider your options<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n


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Performance reviews serve as feedback on your work over the course of a year or longer, so most of us tend to think of them as an ending. Thinking of the review as the beginning of a process \u2013 to change, to improvement, to success \u2013 can change this. If after all the steps you continue to feel out of place, you may not be a good fit for the organization. It\u2019s important to use the negative review as a springboard for positive change. \u201cMany, many successful people have failed at various points in their career, and most of them later looked back on it as a real opportunity,\u201d Heen says. A new opportunity at another company could well be the shot in the arm that you need \u2013 you can start looking for one today by signing up here.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here\u2019re some strategies to get what you deserve:<\/strong> Think you deserve better at work? 6 strategic moves to help you get ahead<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Challenging a boss\u2019s appraisal can be a delicate matter and it\u2019s important to be cautious and prudent. Your boss has a significant investment in the appraisal, and seeking an immediate resolution won\u2019t work. If you feel you have been deliberately shortchanged, you may want to get your boss\u2019s superior and\/or HR involved. But think this through for HR has a \u201cdual accountability\u201d. That said, you must loop HR in if you have evidence that your manager is bullying you, taking retaliatory measures against you, or can\u2019t back up the feedback. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[HR can] often be a helpful resource to help you sort through things more objectively, and they can suggest process improvements to ensure that performance reviews are conducted fairly and accurately in the future,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan says.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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