When you keep people updated on your progress and aspirations, they’re more likely to feel part of your team and have a stake in your advancement. Photo: Stock.
While many workers regard the mid-year performance review with trepidation, May Busch urges a proactive approach by seeking the opinions and advice of key stakeholders.
The months are flying past, Easter is already in the back window and before we know it, the mid-year performance review is looming.
Even if your organisation does not have a formal review process, mid-year is a great time to check progress towards your goals for the year and assess what you need to do to finish strongly.
What most people don’t do is take mid-year as an opportunity to reach out to their sponsors, mentors and other key stakeholders and have a strategic conversation about how things are going – I call this the reverse review.
While a mid-year review is usually given to you by your manager, a reverse mid-year review is where you proactively bring your review to others.
Specifically, to the people who have a say in how your career progresses – your promotion prospects, the projects you are on, your compensation and access to resources.
This doesn’t mean sharing all the gory details of the feedback you may receive in your formal mid-year review, but rather the strategic version you choose to share.
By initiating these strategic conversations with the stakeholders who matter most in your professional life, you’re achieving three important goals.
Building trusted relationships: When you keep people updated on your progress and aspirations, they’re more likely to feel part of your team and have a stake in your advancement.
If your update includes what you’ve accomplished based on their guidance and support, they’ll be more inclined to double down on that support and have more confidence in backing you.
In essence, you strengthen the relationship. It’s like hearing a story, and every time you meet with them, it’s another chapter or episode. They will want to hear more of the story unfold.
Getting senior-level advice: It’s especially valuable to seek guidance while there’s still time for a mid-course correction.
For example, things may have changed since the start of the year, whether that’s in the market, the economy, the organisation, or your projects.
What was a priority in January may no longer be one by the end of the year, and your sponsors and mentors may be in the best position to clue you in.
Advocating for yourself in a natural way: You’re simply sharing where things stand at mid-year, including what you’ve accomplished, and what you expect to focus on in the second half.
The latter could include setting yourself up for the next promotion, closing a big client deal, or anything else that senior stakeholders might be able to help with or give advice on if they only knew about it early enough.
Here are five elements that will serve you well in your conversation, even if it’s the first time you’re speaking with a senior stakeholder.
Achievements: A simple way to start is with a succinct update on what you’ve achieved so far this year and how it links back to your organisation’s objectives.
Focus on how you’re adding value, not just how hard you’re working. Talk about your achievements with your audience in mind – what does this senior stakeholder care about and how has your work contributed to that?
Aspirations: This can be growing your responsibilities, positioning yourself for a big promotion or expanding the organisation’s reach.
Advice: Having given your senior stakeholders the review of how far you’ve come and where you want to head, you can naturally ask for any advice they have.
As part of this, it’s fair game to talk about the challenges and opportunities you see ahead and get their input on how best to navigate them.
Appreciation: Make sure you express gratitude for their support. Be specific if you can.
This could be thanking your sponsor for giving you the opportunity to present at the executive committee meeting or recommending you for a stretch assignment. If it’s something you’d like to do more of, you can add that too.
Add value: Thanking your senior stakeholders is a perfect lead-in to talking about what their priorities are and how you can support them in achieving their goals.
You’ll also learn what’s on their minds, so even if there’s no obvious way you can help at the moment, you’ll be able to keep their priorities in mind and look for ways to add value going forward.
Whether or not there’s a formal mid-year review process, you can still do your own reverse mid-year review.
This doesn’t have to be formal; often, the less formal the better. Think of it as an opportunity to self-assess where things stand and have a series of ‘‘catch-up’’ conversations. So don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
What matters is that you do it.
May Busch’s mission is to help leaders and their organisations achieve their full potential. She works with smart entrepreneurs and top managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected]. This article first appeared on May’s blogsite.
