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This article originally appeared on DiversityInc.com on December 19, 2005

It's a simple truth that no one likes being judged and very few like being critiqued. That natural disdain is what makes the formal job-review process so nerve-wracking for so many. The idea of sitting across from your supervisor as your achievements and shortcomings are laid out in front of you on a stark sheet of paper can be an intimidating experience.

What makes the occurrence more daunting is that far too many employees walk into the process blindly. If they've managed to avoid any major screw-ups during the course of the year and haven't been chewed out by the boss, then it's safe to assume they're doing a good job, right?

Wrong.

 "No communication is not the same as good communication," stresses Lynn Avitabile, managing director, global head of human resources for JPMorgan Chase's Global Asset Management (No. 25 on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list). "If they're not telling you you're doing OK, maybe they also are not informing you if you're not meeting expectations."

And the worst time to find out you're not pulling your weight is during the annual review. Indeed, human-resources executives stress the best way to avoid this is by taking control of your review process by monitoring your progress throughout the year.

"The mistake people make about performance reviews is that they treat them as if they were being done to them. You should never treat an evaluation that way because if you do, you're giving the other guy carte blanche power to determine how you're doing," says Avitabile. "The one rule to making sure performance evaluations work is to take a hugely active part in evaluating your own performance."

One way to remove the mystery is to make sure it's a yearlong, ongoing process, says Bet Franzone, a spokesperson for American Express (No. 22 on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list).

At American Express, Franzone says every employee, from customer-service representatives to executive managers, goes through a number of evaluation processes throughout the year as part of a company-wide performance-management process. 
 
"It's a critical factor in helping our employees manage their performance. Our process occurs year-round to maximize individual performance, and it involves future goal-setting, ongoing assessment of work against goals and an annual review," she says.
 
The company's review process consists of goal setting at the beginning of the year with each employee to maximize individual performance. During the course of the year, there is an ongoing assessment of how those goals are being met. For some departments, this also includes a mid-year review. The process culminates with a year-end sit-down with a supervisor to identify ongoing development and leadership opportunities.

"It's a top-to-bottom approach. So goals are set at the executive level and those are cascaded down throughout the organization so people can set their goals based on their responsibilities. The system is designed to clarify the expectations so there is no ambiguity," says Franzone. "We have very clearly defined competencies of what constitutes high performance, so there are very clear models employees can use to help develop their performance. The system is designed so the employee is never in the dark."

It's that fear of the unknown, of finding out what your boss is really thinking about you and your performance, that makes the process so untenable for many, says Avitabile.

Avitabile has worked for the same supervisor at JPMorgan for the last 10 years. She makes a point of sitting down with that supervisor on a monthly basis to discuss performance issues and to make sure their mutual goals are being accomplished. She's broken their meetings into designated categories. One is the 'business as usual' segment, which consists of reviewing weekly reports or other areas where there won't be large variations from month to month.

"The second bracket consists of those things that are strategic deliverables for this month or this year and to let my boss know how I'm prioritizing them," she says. This gives her ample opportunity for critical face time with her boss and provides her with an opening to request any additional resources she might require to accomplish her tasks.

"Send e-mails. Send written memos. Do whatever is necessary to keep that communication open and flowing," she urges. "If you send clearly outlined details of what you're working on, the timeframes that you're dealing with and the resources that you're using and then you deliver, then how can I give you a bad review?" asks Avitabile. 

But if you do find yourself in the unfortunate position of being on the wrong end of a bad review, there are some steps to take before packing your bags and brushing off your résumé.

Too often an employee's first reaction is to begin looking for another job, says Avitabile. "The first thing you have to do is go to your supervisor without any defensiveness and be willing to listen absolutely to what they have to say. Then tell them you were really surprised and that you would love to get some help understanding what happened and how you can turn it around."
 
Most people, believes Avitabile, are "conflict-avoiders." So when supervisors are put in the unenviable position of delivering critical feedback to a subordinate, they're often as uncomfortable as the person on the receiving end.

"But if they've done it, you have to get them to feel like you can take it, listen to it and learn from it," she says. "If they perceive you coming to them to argue, they will simply shut down."

So ask your supervisor to be as specific as possible in the areas where it's determined you fell short. The goal is to walk away with enough information to recover and rebound from the review. "You have to know enough to know what to fix," says Avitabile.

Responding positively even in the face of harsh criticism sends a message that you're willing to work on your flaws and correct them if possible. By demonstrating that you're committed to improving yourself and open to being critiqued without getting negative or paranoid, your supervisor is apt to feel more confident in giving you the information you'll need to improve. "The reason most people fall off the career wagon is because people don't really tell them what they really think about them," says Avitabile.

But the goal is to avoid the dilemma altogether by actively owning your own performance evaluation. Most employees should assume that the best management that they're going to get over the course of their career is the management that they are going to give themselves. "No one will care about your career progression more than you will," says Avitabile. "You should never give away things that are of the most importance to you."

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