People

People are funny things. Especially around performance appraisal time. To provide some context - I currently have a management team of 7 who manage about 55 people between them. As you would expect with any group there are high performers and there are low. Where the funny comes into it is how people perceive themselves.

There are some on my team who are truly brilliant. They have raised the bar in so many ways and yet they don't see it. They are surprised, pleasantly so, by their ratings and the resultant compensation increases. Then there are others who are struggling. Who have consistently heard that they are struggling through the coaching that they are receiving. Who inherently must know that they are struggling because they feel out of control or out of the loop. And yet are surprised, unpleasantly so, by their low ratings and lack of compensation. The latter have me shaking my head. With experience and promotion I would expect a certain level of self awareness. I expect you to take accountability for your own actions and decisions. I expect that you can say "ya know, it wasn't my best year but I'm committed to the job and here is what I will do to turn it around" or "ya know, I don't think this is the right fit for me and I am choosing to leave". I do not expect to hear "it's not my fault". Ummm... who's fault is it? If you choose not to build the relationships, if you choose not to reach out if you are struggling, if you choose not to learn the business that you are managing, if you choose not to manage your people, then yeah, it's your fault. This is a natural consequence of the decisions you made. Stand up and be the manager we're paying you to be. It's not your fault? Please!