Surprises are on my mind this week. Do you like surprises?
Surprises can come in many forms. The most common may be a surprise birthday party. Wedding proposals are often surprises. It can be the unexpected early arrival of a new baby. Surprises can be a simple as a bunch of fresh flowers or as complex as a new home bought and readied without your knowledge.
Not all surprises are good, of course. I’m sure you can think of some surprises in your life that you weren’t too excited about.
One thing that should never be a surprise is the information shared in a performance review. If we, as leadership, are doing our job well, our team members should know how they are performing well in advance of annual performance reviews. Performance should be a regular topic of conversation in one-on-ones, side-by-sides, quality review discussions and other interactions you have day to day.
As we head into the more formal mid-year performance touchbases over the next couple weeks, hopefully they are simply a summary of all the performance conversations that have already taken place this year. Mid-year reviews can also serve as a launching pad for the rest of the year. They may be simple encouragement to keep moving in the right direction or confirmation of adjustments being made.
One thing these discussions should not be is a surprise.
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Tuesday Tidbits are weekly messages I send to my leadership team. They are generally short & sweet, often focused on leadership or teamwork, always positive and, hopefully, motivational. I hope you also find some meaning in them.
