Part 3 of a 3 part series on working from home (WFH) and performance reviews. You made it to part 3 – the performance reviews are still happening this year and you’ve taken the time to prepare and yet – you still want to know how to step into the review with some solid confidence that you’ll be able to walk out with great information.
This brings me to the framework for better questions. It’s a simple framework and yet AMAZINGLY effective. I call this The ASK Framework™. This framework is designed to set up the conversation to be successful, reduce emotional triggers, and include helpful information. It has just three simple parts:
Context: sets both parties up for success because context provides clarity of topic.
One thing: is based on the fact that it drives the answer to automatically reveal the most important or valued item. (and yes, limit it always to one thing – when more than one thing is provided, we weight them equally and miss the opportunity to identify which one is the more important to embrace).
An example: allows the recipient to hear how it shows up through other people’s perspectives.
Adopting the habit of curiosity and how to ask for specific information is not only useful in the review process – it is helpful in working with others when unpacking challenges and gaining useful information to resolve problems faster.
So what? Coming into a performance review prepared with what has been accomplished, identifying where you would like to grow, and knowing how to unpack the details provided in the review will create an opportunity instead of a hurdle. Regardless of what ambiguity exists in the WFH organizational world, these tips should help in reducing anxiety or nervousness and provide proof of work to talk about.
Honor the process The only other tip I’d like to add is to honor the process of the performance review by setting aside quiet time for the appointment, build in review and reflection time 30 minutes prior to the appointment, and also to schedule a time to speak with your manager about the performance results 2-4 weeks later. This provides you with the brain space to be present and prepared during the appointment and the next meeting is to review what you have been able to do since the appointment so your manager knows you took all information seriously.
You got this! These are all simple things to build into your day to day habits – and they will have a huge benefit to your performance reviews of the future.
For more information on this topic, we can help in several ways:
Reach out to Carole and schedule some time to practice this framework – no hidden gimmicks on this – it’s a big deal to feel comfortable with this and the results are AWESOME!
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