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One of the most difficult tasks expected of management is the end-of-the-year evaluation. Do you say too much? Do you say too little? Do you inadvertently offend the employee with a casual remark that you had no intention of uttering? It happens all the time. I’ve written comments in performance evaluations that have downright haunted me and the employee because he brought it up for years. These episodes made me so gun-shy I was almost afraid to write anything after that. For many years, though, I thought “more was more.” I filled the evaluation form with plenty of remarks and even wrote in the margins, thinking it meant I cared and was focused on helping that employee perform at a high level. Now and then, however, I think I overwhelmed a few people by being too attentive and expecting too much. Now I have learned to economize my words.
Awkward Moments
Early in my career, I finished a session with a staff member who I thought was under-performing and capable of much more. He smiled, seemed to appreciate the support, and suddenly broke into tears. “How in the world am I ever going to do all that stuff you expect?”
Oops—overload. Misjudged.