Speaker 1: Hey, listeners, this is Laura, your host of the Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast podcast. As many of you know, I publish five
Speaker 1: new episodes of Before Breakfast every week. A few years ago,
Speaker 1: during the pandemic, I hosted a short daily podcast called
Speaker 1: The New Corner Office. I shared strategies for working productively
Speaker 1: and happily from home. After life started to get back
Speaker 1: to normal, I stopped recording new episodes. However, I've kept
Speaker 1: sharing one of those existing New Corner Office episodes each week,
Speaker 1: usually on Sundays, with the Before Breakfast audience. Lately, I
Speaker 1: have realized that we've moved enough past those times that
Speaker 1: the advice is starting to feel a little less useful,
Speaker 1: so I won't be republishing any more New Corner Office
Speaker 1: episodes in this feed. However, I know that listening to
Speaker 1: this show has become a daily habit for many people.
Speaker 1: To keep something in your feed on Saturdays and Sundays,
Speaker 1: I'll republish an earlier episode of Before Breakfast. You can
Speaker 1: always tell if something is a repeat episode, because I'll
Speaker 1: label it second Cup. I have published over one thousand
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast episodes since twenty nineteen, so it's possible that
Speaker 1: you missed a few and Second Cup gives you a
Speaker 1: chance to listen, but if you only want new episodes,
Speaker 1: feel free to skip past anything labeled Second Cup. I'll
Speaker 1: still be releasing new Before Breakfast episodes every weekday morning.
Speaker 1: Hopefully you can find a tip that will help you
Speaker 1: take your day from great to awesome. I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear about anything you've tried in your life. Feel free
Speaker 1: to reach out to me at Laura at Laura vandercam
Speaker 1: dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,
Speaker 1: and here's to making the most of our time. Welcome
Speaker 1: to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, This
Speaker 1: is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. We're coming
Speaker 1: into the fourth quarter of the year, and today's tip
Speaker 1: is about how to make sure your end of year
Speaker 1: review is a fabulous one. Now. I know that a
Speaker 1: number of organizations are reforming the annual review process, and
Speaker 1: for good reason, everyone and younger workers in particular, wants
Speaker 1: frequent feedback. No one should have to wait until November
Speaker 1: or December to figure out how they're doing and to
Speaker 1: have a meaningful conversation about career progress. I also have
Speaker 1: doubts about how meaningful an annual conversation can be since
Speaker 1: people have short memories, a big wins scored in February
Speaker 1: has much less effect on an annual review then a
Speaker 1: big win or a big mistake made in October or November.
Speaker 1: In practice, an annual review is often a thirty day
Speaker 1: review masquerading as something more comprehensive. However, I know many
Speaker 1: organizations are sticking with the annual review process, and if
Speaker 1: this includes yours, then you have a great opportunity over
Speaker 1: the next few weeks to shape the narrative. Here's how
Speaker 1: you can do this. First, remember that everyone likes numbers,
Speaker 1: even when misused. Numbers seem to make an objective case.
Speaker 1: So look back over the past year and see what
Speaker 1: numbers you can generate to show your impact. Maybe you
Speaker 1: launched a new section on your company's website and traffic
Speaker 1: is indeed up. The scientists among us might note that
Speaker 1: correlation is not causation, but for your purposes, this is
Speaker 1: a rise worth noting. Maybe in April you killed a
Speaker 1: recurring meeting that wasn't accomplishing anything. Out how much money
Speaker 1: this has saved your company over the year. Five highly
Speaker 1: paid people's salaries for an hour a week over seven
Speaker 1: months adds up. Maybe you've managed to keep everyone on
Speaker 1: your team working with you all year. This one hundred
Speaker 1: percent annual retention rate has prevented all kinds of turnover costs,
Speaker 1: costs you might be able to quantify by looking at
Speaker 1: other teams, so highlight this too. Even people who aren't
Speaker 1: directly in charge of P and L can show numerical
Speaker 1: impact if they try second, collect testimonials and feedback. Ideally,
Speaker 1: your manager is doing this simultaneously, and she's talking with
Speaker 1: everyone you work with to see what they think you're
Speaker 1: excelling at and what you can improve upon. But no
Speaker 1: one will do as thorough a job as you will,
Speaker 1: and most managers aren't going to have these conversations until
Speaker 1: right before the deadline. So go ahead and talk to
Speaker 1: people now ahead of schedule and first. Candid conversations are
Speaker 1: good in general at any point. I mean, wouldn't it
Speaker 1: be great to learn that the team member who seems
Speaker 1: to never respond to your emails would much prefer to
Speaker 1: communicate via text. Well, now you know, even if this
Speaker 1: has little to do with your actual performance. But the
Speaker 1: real upside is that if you're talking with everyone before
Speaker 1: they officially provide three hundred and sixty degree feedback. You
Speaker 1: can shape the narrative. The sad truth is that most
Speaker 1: of us are stuck in our own little worlds. We
Speaker 1: aren't thinking that much about other people until we're forced
Speaker 1: to cough something up. If you nudge that process along,
Speaker 1: you can remind people of what's awesome about you, or
Speaker 1: at least what you'd like the powers that be to know,
Speaker 1: third solve any glaring problems. I'd like to think we're
Speaker 1: all aware of our weaknesses, but sometimes we aren't, and
Speaker 1: sometimes we don't think these weaknesses matter as much as
Speaker 1: other people think they do. And maybe your conversations with
Speaker 1: team members will surface issues that are hindering productivity. If
Speaker 1: you think about these issues now, you can address them
Speaker 1: in the window before your annual review. Perhaps a team
Speaker 1: member mentions that your habit of starting and ending meetings
Speaker 1: late is interfering with her ability to schedule things afterwards. Now,
Speaker 1: ten minutes isn't a huge deal in the grand scheme
Speaker 1: of things. But here's the thing. In generally positive performance reviews,
Speaker 1: people tend to seize on small problems just to show
Speaker 1: their being thorough. Rather than be upset about this, you
Speaker 1: can do something about any small complaints you learn about
Speaker 1: in the next few weeks. If you can show progress
Speaker 1: that you are addressing these issues, that's a much better
Speaker 1: story than just sticking your head in the sand. Finally,
Speaker 1: figure out what you'd like to ask for. While managers
Speaker 1: are supposed to be thinking about your career progress and
Speaker 1: your compensation, they can't know exactly what you'd like if
Speaker 1: you don't tell them. So. If you'd like to be
Speaker 1: promoted in the next year, say so. If you'd like
Speaker 1: to get a larger raise, well, ask what you'd need
Speaker 1: to do for your manager to be comfortable with that.
Speaker 1: Propose some ideas. Everyone loves solutions, so make sure you
Speaker 1: have several options brainstormed ahead of time. If you do
Speaker 1: these steps, there's a good chance you'll have your best
Speaker 1: review ever. So if you're coming up on in an
Speaker 1: annual review, spend some time today generating numbers, having conversations,
Speaker 1: and brainstorming future possibilities. In the meantime, This is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter. Facebook and Instagram. At
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast Pod that's b the number four, then Breakfast pod.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: At iHeartMedia that before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward to
Speaker 1: staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.