Performance Reviews are Stupid

I think every employee, no matter how good of a job they do, dreads performance reviews. You fear that your perception of how you are doing and their perception of how you are doing might differ. But the reality of it is that they really don't matter.

At the end of my first year as an engineer, my boss and I sat down for my performance review. I was a little nervous, but I figured I knew pretty much what he would say because we were constantly communicating with each other. It wasn't a once-a-year thing, it was an all-the-time thing. He always said that we will have a performance review to adhere to company policy, but nothing in the review should come as a surprise. If it did, he wasn't doing his job and we weren't communicating effectively. Needless to say, nothing in that review surprised me in the least bit.

In today's world, feedback once a year is not enough. Successful businesses and successful employees crave and need regular feedback - certainly weekly, and sometimes daily or hourly. It depends on the nature of the business and the people involved, but it always needs to happen more frequently than yearly.

I was reminded of this today when I read a post on David Lorenzo's Career Intensity Blog entitled Other's Can't Judge Your Value.

True measurement is rare. Very few companies measure performance in a way that accurately reflects individual achievement. Mediocre workers who donÂ’t rock the boat can end up earning more points than those who go beyond the call of duty.

You know your strengths best. If you want to move ahead in a company, you would be wise to emphasize the strengths your company values, and demonstrate them at every opportunity. However, if what you value most in yourself is not recognized or appreciated by your employer, you should probably move on to a position in which you can maximize the impact of your abilities, demonstrate them, and be rewarded for them.

As an entrepreneur, this applies to the opportunities that you take. You know your strengths, so why not build your company around them? The great part about running your own business is that you are guaranteed to be rewarded for your efforts if you succeed. That's something that's tough to find in a job.

Oh, and if you have employees, do away with performance reviews. They are stupid :)