by Stephen Dynako, IPS Student
It’s that time of year again at work where my annual performance plan and review is due. This year my boss asked me to self-evaluate on the quantitative portions of the review, then he would go back afterward to either agree with or adjust my self-imposed ratings before the document became official.
For example, say there was a category on the review called “Demonstrates Leadership.” The ratings might include: 1) exceeds expectations, 2) performs above average, 3) meets expectations, and 4) performs below expectations. Since my boss asked me to self-evaluate, let’s suppose I felt really good about my leadership performance this year and gave myself an “exceeds expectations.” Additionally, there were another six or seven quantitative categories to evaluate on this year’s review.
Because I consider myself to have good self-esteem but also because I exercise a healthy degree of humility, I rated myself a combination of “exceeds expectations” and “performs above average” on all categories. I felt it would be pompous to give myself “straight A’s” across the board, because I am aware that my job is challenging and though I am very, very good at it, I know I am not perfect.
To put it bluntly, I have never felt comfortable with self-evaluations. After all, who in one’s right mind would willingly self-evaluate on the low end of a scale in any category, especially on a document on which that person’s annual bonus and salary increase are based? Therefore, when my boss asked me to take the first crack at this document, I knew it was going to be subject to his subsequent modification. I preferred he cut out the middle man (that is, me) and just fill it out with what he knew would be the final ratings. (more…)