The Incompetent Annual Review

Someone recently responded to my blog by describing their fearless leader’s attempt at doing an annual review. There is a disclaimer here. I am assuming what this reader has shared is totally factual.

So here is the reader’s description of her annual reviews:

“In 16 years at my last job, my annual reviews were an opportunity for my boss (Director) to nit pick and criticize about little petty things from 11 months prior, or we talked about his latest “new toy” he purchased. I knew everything about him, kids, wife, parents and in-laws. Even his neighbors. He didn’t even now that I had a child. Better yet, would have been to celebrate my many achievements and all the money I saved the company. I have to admit my bonuses were great - he always rated me Superior Performance, so there was some solace in getting the money. But he would never tell me that, why? So although the mid 5 figure bonuses were appreciated, the lack of acknowledgement did offend me.”

Wow!

We can learn from this post. If this boss is for real, the Blogging Boss assumes he is a menace to corporate America.

Why?

1) An annual review should have NO surprises! None. Zero. If this boss had issues during the past year they should have been addressed all through the year. You NEVER dump on an employee during an annual review. NEVER. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I really hate this.

2) The employee knows all about the boss (most likely their personal life was vomited upon the employee). The boss never listened enough to even hear that the employee actually had a child. Folks, this is the NORM! Most managers have wax-filled ears. Even if they had it removed they still could NOT listen.

3) The boss never acknowledged exactly what the employee did well. Yet the boss compensated as if the employee was doing a stellar job. People want to know what they are doing well. This is KEY to self-esteem and confidence. This boss compensated at a high level, but did not marry the compensation to the accomplishments. BOOOO!

So what do we take away from this wonderful post?

1) The boss was self-centered and never made an effort to learn more about the employee. Actually my guess is that he really did not care.

2) He used an annual review to needle the employee and then sent a mixed signal. The employee was never told WHY they deserved a 5 figure bonus (not a trivial bonus).

3) The employee was compensated for the level of achievement but never appropriately coached or mentored.

4) The resulting message was “money is good.” The net result - offensive management. “My boss has offended me and has not been my advocate.”

On the Blogging Boss scale, this manager gets a barely a 1 on a scale from 1 to 5. He has violated some very important principles as an advocate, servant and leader.

Send me your comments!