How To Deliver A Shot Across The Bow Review

Submitted by mauzenne on Mon, 08/06/2012 - 22:18.
in

This guidance describes how to deliver an unofficial performance evaluation when your direct is failing and may either not realize it or is resisting changing.

For a poor performer, your corporate culture may still require you to inflate their performance evaluation. If you gave them a truthful review, they would be fired. So, you give them an unofficial review, but it’s also a shot across the bow review – because it contemplates termination.


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Submitted by jtrad on Tue, 08/14/2012 - 23:32.

Thank You!

Mark and Mike,

This cast is very helpful.  I recently had an experience where I assumed the Purchasing Department.  The Purchasing Department was very insular and resistant to change.  My strategy was to ask the personnel to develop goals - their goals, not mine.  They resisted and I was firm with the expectation they set goals. I did not dictate the goal or revise them in anyway.  In their first evaluations with me, I documented their goals in the goal box on the evaluation form.

Soon afterward I was summoned to HR.  There in front of the Union President, I was dressed down for documenting their goals on their evaluations.  Nevermind there is a goal box on the evaluation form.  I was told, we don't evaluate folks on their goals.

I have been perplexed by this experience until hearing this cast.  My paradigm has been the evaluation is for the employee and this experience was in direct conflict with my paradigm.  As a result, my evaluations have been very timid and even though I give feedback on a regular basis, I stopped candid feedback in the evaluations.

Now I understand evaluation forms are not for the employee - they are for the organization.  My organization can not handle goals; we are government, need I say more?  Candid feedback is not for the evaluation form, but rather for the employee.  I will be providing candid feedback in the evaluation to the employee, not on the form.

Thanks again!

Jeff