Effective Strategies for Stress-Free Performance Reviews

Performance reviews can be stressful, especially when you feel like you’re not great at talking yourself up. Advocating for your own value is important but often feels like walking a fine line between projecting confidence and feeling like you’re bragging.

Here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be that way. With a bit of prep, you can walk into that review ready to own your accomplishments and make a solid case for your next steps.

Shouldn’t My Work Speak For Itself?

Do NOT fall into this trap. The ideal of the meritocracy is just that — an ideal. The rest of us live in the real world, and if you are not telling the story of your impact, no one will have the full picture.

Like all of us, your manager has a fixed amount attention with multiple demands, including running projects, managing their direct reports, managing upward and outward, and thinking about their own career growth. This is why it’s important to not assume they see and understand your intentions and the fullness of your contribution.

If you take one thing from this post, let it be that you should Own The Narrative of Your Career. You can do this by reflecting on your wins, drawing the connection to the company objectives, and taking the time to clarify how you want to grow — or what you want to grow towards — over the following six months.

Reflect on Your Wins — And Take Credit!

How often do you pause and think about everything you’ve accomplished over the past year? Probably not often. Your performance review is your chance to tell a story about your contribution in the context of business impact. Use this format to get started:

• I [drove/lead/contributed to] Project X by [writing/coding/organizing/testing/running]. Project [X] changed [Y] for the better, which impacted [customers/team/company] by [use data to illustrate the impact].

Did you streamline a process that saved hours for your team? Did you ship a performance improvement that reduced page load time by 300ms? Did you mentor for someone early in their career and help them grow? These are all wins and stories you want to tell.

The more senior you are, the more accomplishments should be headed by “I drove” or “I lead” statements, and the more you should be able to draw the connection between your activities every day and the success of the business.

Align Your Work with the Bigger Picture

Now that you’ve got your list of wins, let’s connect them to the bigger picture. The key here is showing how your work has directly impacted the company or your team’s goals.

• Did that new feature you led improve user retention? GO DEEPER.
  • How many users? Multiply that number by what the company acknowledges as revenue per user, or the cost to attract new users.
• Did the workflow you designed save the company time? GO DEEPER.
  • How much time did it take before compared to now? Multiply that by an average salary, and you have a number to attach to the time savings.

These are the kinds of things your manager wants to hear, and they’re also the proof points that show you’re not just completing tasks—you’re driving results. If you are struggling to connect your wins to business impact, ask your manager! There should be a clear WHY to attach to every outcome you are driving. Hopefully that WHY is articulated before you start work — at the very least, why THIS and not THAT — but if it isn’t clear at the outset, it is never too late to get there.

Advocate for Career Growth and Development

When it comes to advocating for career growth, it’s easy to think your work will speak for itself: “If I just keep doing great work, someone will notice how well I’m doing and promote me.” Just like owning the narrative of your contribution, you have to clearly articulate and share your career aspirations and the areas where you want to grow. The key is to be specific about how you want to be performing rather than the title you hope to achieve.

For example, if you are looking to move from an individual contributor role into management, identify the skills or experience gaps that you need to be successful in that role. If you are struggling to come up with something concrete, a mentor recently taught me this strategy for opening a conversation with my manager:

“If there was an open role for a manager position today, would I be at the top of your list? If not, what are the gaps I need to fill in order to give you confidence I can be successful?”

This is a powerful tool to uncover what matters most to your particular manager and organization, and can help you identify and ask for the kinds of assignments that will help you practice these skills.

Set Yourself Up for Success in Your Next Performance Review

If you’re still finding yourself without a lot of story to tell, now is the time to set yourself up for success for the next  performance review. Find a place to collect screenshots of thanks you’ve received, set monthly reminders to get feedback from your colleagues about how you are showing up for them, or go even further and set up a brag lunch to help your colleagues articulate their wins as well.

In the end, performance reviews don’t have to be a source of anxiety; they can be an empowering opportunity to showcase your contributions and set the stage for your future growth. By reflecting on your wins, aligning your achievements with business goals, and advocating for your development, you’re not just preparing for a review—you’re taking charge of your career narrative. And remember, it’s all about continuous improvement. By proactively gathering feedback and celebrating your successes, you’ll not only build your own confidence but also create a supportive environment where everyone thrives. So, take these steps now, and watch how they transform your next performance review into a powerful moment of recognition and opportunity.

If you’re ready to dive deeper and explore how coaching can help you navigate your career path, consider booking a discovery session with me. Let’s work together to ensure you shine in your next review and beyond!