WEBVTT - Second Cup: Nail your year-end review

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, listeners, this is Laura, your host of the Before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast podcast. As many of you know, I publish five

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<v Speaker 1>new episodes of Before Breakfast every week. A few years ago,

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<v Speaker 1>during the pandemic, I hosted a short daily podcast called

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<v Speaker 1>The New Corner Office. I shared strategies for working productively

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<v Speaker 1>and happily from home. After life started to get back

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<v Speaker 1>to normal, I stopped recording new episodes. However, I've kept

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<v Speaker 1>sharing one of those existing New Corner Office episodes each week,

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<v Speaker 1>usually on Sundays, with the Before Breakfast audience. Lately, I

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<v Speaker 1>have realized that we've moved enough past those times that

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<v Speaker 1>the advice is starting to feel a little less useful,

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<v Speaker 1>so I won't be republishing any more New Corner Office

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<v Speaker 1>episodes in this feed. However, I know that listening to

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<v Speaker 1>this show has become a daily habit for many people.

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<v Speaker 1>To keep something in your feed on Saturdays and Sundays,

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<v Speaker 1>I'll republish an earlier episode of Before Breakfast. You can

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<v Speaker 1>always tell if something is a repeat episode, because I'll

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<v Speaker 1>label it second Cup. I have published over one thousand

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast episodes since twenty nineteen, so it's possible that

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<v Speaker 1>you missed a few and Second Cup gives you a

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<v Speaker 1>chance to listen, but if you only want new episodes,

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<v Speaker 1>feel free to skip past anything labeled Second Cup. I'll

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<v Speaker 1>still be releasing new Before Breakfast episodes every weekday morning.

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<v Speaker 1>Hopefully you can find a tip that will help you

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<v Speaker 1>take your day from great to awesome. I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear about anything you've tried in your life. Feel free

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<v Speaker 1>to reach out to me at Laura at Laura vandercam

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Welcome

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<v Speaker 1>to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, This

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. We're coming

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<v Speaker 1>into the fourth quarter of the year, and today's tip

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<v Speaker 1>is about how to make sure your end of year

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<v Speaker 1>review is a fabulous one. Now. I know that a

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<v Speaker 1>number of organizations are reforming the annual review process, and

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<v Speaker 1>for good reason, everyone and younger workers in particular, wants

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<v Speaker 1>frequent feedback. No one should have to wait until November

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<v Speaker 1>or December to figure out how they're doing and to

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<v Speaker 1>have a meaningful conversation about career progress. I also have

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<v Speaker 1>doubts about how meaningful an annual conversation can be since

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<v Speaker 1>people have short memories, a big wins scored in February

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<v Speaker 1>has much less effect on an annual review then a

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<v Speaker 1>big win or a big mistake made in October or November.

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<v Speaker 1>In practice, an annual review is often a thirty day

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<v Speaker 1>review masquerading as something more comprehensive. However, I know many

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<v Speaker 1>organizations are sticking with the annual review process, and if

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<v Speaker 1>this includes yours, then you have a great opportunity over

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<v Speaker 1>the next few weeks to shape the narrative. Here's how

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<v Speaker 1>you can do this. First, remember that everyone likes numbers,

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<v Speaker 1>even when misused. Numbers seem to make an objective case.

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<v Speaker 1>So look back over the past year and see what

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<v Speaker 1>numbers you can generate to show your impact. Maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>launched a new section on your company's website and traffic

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<v Speaker 1>is indeed up. The scientists among us might note that

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<v Speaker 1>correlation is not causation, but for your purposes, this is

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<v Speaker 1>a rise worth noting. Maybe in April you killed a

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<v Speaker 1>recurring meeting that wasn't accomplishing anything. Out how much money

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<v Speaker 1>this has saved your company over the year. Five highly

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<v Speaker 1>paid people's salaries for an hour a week over seven

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<v Speaker 1>months adds up. Maybe you've managed to keep everyone on

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<v Speaker 1>your team working with you all year. This one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>percent annual retention rate has prevented all kinds of turnover costs,

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<v Speaker 1>costs you might be able to quantify by looking at

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<v Speaker 1>other teams, so highlight this too. Even people who aren't

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<v Speaker 1>directly in charge of P and L can show numerical

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<v Speaker 1>impact if they try second, collect testimonials and feedback. Ideally,

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<v Speaker 1>your manager is doing this simultaneously, and she's talking with

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<v Speaker 1>everyone you work with to see what they think you're

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<v Speaker 1>excelling at and what you can improve upon. But no

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<v Speaker 1>one will do as thorough a job as you will,

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<v Speaker 1>and most managers aren't going to have these conversations until

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<v Speaker 1>right before the deadline. So go ahead and talk to

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<v Speaker 1>people now ahead of schedule and first. Candid conversations are

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<v Speaker 1>good in general at any point. I mean, wouldn't it

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<v Speaker 1>be great to learn that the team member who seems

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<v Speaker 1>to never respond to your emails would much prefer to

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<v Speaker 1>communicate via text. Well, now you know, even if this

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<v Speaker 1>has little to do with your actual performance. But the

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<v Speaker 1>real upside is that if you're talking with everyone before

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<v Speaker 1>they officially provide three hundred and sixty degree feedback. You

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<v Speaker 1>can shape the narrative. The sad truth is that most

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<v Speaker 1>of us are stuck in our own little worlds. We

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<v Speaker 1>aren't thinking that much about other people until we're forced

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<v Speaker 1>to cough something up. If you nudge that process along,

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<v Speaker 1>you can remind people of what's awesome about you, or

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<v Speaker 1>at least what you'd like the powers that be to know,

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<v Speaker 1>third solve any glaring problems. I'd like to think we're

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<v Speaker 1>all aware of our weaknesses, but sometimes we aren't, and

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes we don't think these weaknesses matter as much as

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<v Speaker 1>other people think they do. And maybe your conversations with

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<v Speaker 1>team members will surface issues that are hindering productivity. If

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<v Speaker 1>you think about these issues now, you can address them

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<v Speaker 1>in the window before your annual review. Perhaps a team

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<v Speaker 1>member mentions that your habit of starting and ending meetings

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<v Speaker 1>late is interfering with her ability to schedule things afterwards. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>ten minutes isn't a huge deal in the grand scheme

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<v Speaker 1>of things. But here's the thing. In generally positive performance reviews,

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<v Speaker 1>people tend to seize on small problems just to show

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<v Speaker 1>their being thorough. Rather than be upset about this, you

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<v Speaker 1>can do something about any small complaints you learn about

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<v Speaker 1>in the next few weeks. If you can show progress

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<v Speaker 1>that you are addressing these issues, that's a much better

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<v Speaker 1>story than just sticking your head in the sand. Finally,

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<v Speaker 1>figure out what you'd like to ask for. While managers

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<v Speaker 1>are supposed to be thinking about your career progress and

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<v Speaker 1>your compensation, they can't know exactly what you'd like if

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<v Speaker 1>you don't tell them. So. If you'd like to be

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<v Speaker 1>promoted in the next year, say so. If you'd like

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<v Speaker 1>to get a larger raise, well, ask what you'd need

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<v Speaker 1>to do for your manager to be comfortable with that.

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<v Speaker 1>Propose some ideas. Everyone loves solutions, so make sure you

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<v Speaker 1>have several options brainstormed ahead of time. If you do

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<v Speaker 1>these steps, there's a good chance you'll have your best

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<v Speaker 1>review ever. So if you're coming up on in an

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<v Speaker 1>annual review, spend some time today generating numbers, having conversations,

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<v Speaker 1>and brainstorming future possibilities. In the meantime, This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter. Facebook and Instagram. At

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast Pod that's b the number four, then Breakfast pod.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>At iHeartMedia that before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward to

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<v Speaker 1>staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

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