Performance review...

Sander Rossel

If by wife you mean cat I could get behind that :laugh:

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Regards, Sander

Sander Rossel

Lines of code, used RAM, processor cycles...? :D

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Regards, Sander

Jorgen Andersson

I don't understand the concept. If your performance isn't up to par, why should you wait 'til a yearly review to bring it up.

Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello

Sander Rossel

True, and I don't. I'm guessing it'll be something like "you write good code, but we'd appreciate it if you came to the office a little earlier." And then we'll talk about my salary. So I'll mostly be defending why my salary should be higher than that of our king :D

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Regards, Sander

Jorgen Andersson

That might turn into a discussion on whether the King is worthy of a salary at all. :)

Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello

Roger165

Do you have any metrics that you were suppose to meet? Is the company in good shape financially? If not then you maybe in for a surprise when they tell you how you haven't performed up to the expected level. Do you put your 50 hours a week in for the man? No, Then your not taking your work seriously. Is this the first performance review? A guy I worked with had all the work he did documented and would bring in a stack of paper. In the end its just a job.

Lost User

"Performance reviews" are an excuse not to provide meaningful feedback on your performance "during" the previous year. At review time, while one may think one performed well, there are any number of patterns and incidents where: a) You believed you were right because ... b) You don't remember the event c) If someone had pointed it out you could've ... d) You didn't get to air your version e) etc. One should be "reviewed" (praised / corrected) throughout the year; not once a year at a "review time". (Everyone with a dog knows there's no point reprimanding the dog more than 2 seconds after the event).

SeattleC

Performance reviews are a ritual meant to put you in your place. Despite pretense, PRs are not objective. They are rather an annual signal about how well your manager likes you. At a really top-rate company, you'd get continuous feedback from your manager and PRs would be unneeded. At other companies, it's a chance for your manager to retaliate for anything you did to annoy them, from being late on an impossible deadline to questioning their authority by suggesting alternative ideas. They can bring up stuff that happened years ago, or focus just on stuff they remember from the last couple months. This can be frustrating, because sometimes there is useful feedback in a performance review. If you can detach, you can learn things that will help you work better with your colleagues. You can't completely blow off performance reviews. You have to take them seriously. But they're deeply, unrecoverably awful. If you are both a superstar developer and an obsequious brown-noser, your performance review will go splendidly, because that's what bosses like. Show any spirit and nine bosses out of ten will retaliate. The Japanese apparently have a saying, "The nail that sticks up, gets hammered down." Here in the US we're supposed to be a meritocracy. I've worked in meritocratic companies with very nurturing managers. But meritocracy is a weak cultural impulse. You're always at the mercy of your manager. If they hire on a pointy-haired boss (I'm talking to YOU, Charlie), that tradition of meritocratic reward can evaporate. Take a minute to get calm and detached before the review. Remind yourself not to react. Say, "Yes sir" and "Thank you sir". Don't whine to your buddies after ('cause that totally gets back to the boss). Let it out at home, where hopefully there's somebody who actually loves you. Remember, it's not about you. It's about your place in the hierarchy.

MikeTheFid

Don't say anything like, "I'm ambitious and hope someday to rise to your level of incompetence!"

Cheers, Mike Fidler "I intend to live forever - so far, so good." Steven Wright "I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met." Also Steven Wright "I'm addicted to placebos. I could quit, but it wouldn't matter." Steven Wright yet again.

Sander Rossel

Actually it went pretty well :D When my manager has a problem with me he likes to tell me right away, the performance review was more of a summary :) He also gives compliments where due. I've heard him say "that's awesome!" and "very nice!" and "well done!" a lot more often than bad comments :D

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Regards, Sander

Sander Rossel

That hierarchy doesn't go very deep :) We also don't have PR or HR or whatever. It's just me, my team lead, and the general manager. My team lead (who hates the word manager) is a part of the team. The only difference between him and me is that he has more responsibility so he has the final say (and I haven't heard him say "no" to anything I've suggested in the past year). We had a really good talk. I wrote down the good things I did in the past year up front, but I didn't need my notes because he mentioned them all. I also wrote down some of my bad habits, but he didn't mention them (well, one was mentioned, but he laughed it off). I even complimented him on his openness towards ideas, changes, and his team. I guess I'm lucky to say that nothing you describe sounds familiar to me :D

My cat Nika, but she only loves me when she wants food :laugh:

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Regards, Sander

Sander Rossel

Nope, just do my job :)

Yep :)

I strictly work the 40 hours I signed for unless I'm getting overtime.

It is for this company. All went well by the way, just as I expected :)

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Regards, Sander

Sander Rossel

I hope to rise to his level of salary though :D

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Regards, Sander

Lost User

Good for you. Just remember that once you're the "boss".

Sander Rossel

I don't get it. The job of a boss, manager, lead, whatever you call it, is to get the best out of his people. All I'm getting here is that they make your life miserable, always acting upon the first change they get to get you. Are managers really that bad at managing?

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Regards, Sander

Lost User

Managers are only "good" or "bad" if one has experienced both. Some of us have.

draghu

You say so many good things about your team/management. Wondering why you posted this? and what was your expectation from the members !!

sibling123

Hey Phrasing! ;P

Sander Rossel

Whoops... :-O

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Regards, Sander

Sander Rossel

I may have a good manager some rules of communication still apply. If I can make myself look better by (not) saying certain things I'd be happy to know. It's sad to see so many people have bad managers. Of course it could be expected. I have this theory that 99% of the people are a bunch of bunglers (no offence) so that also means 99% of the managers.

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need. Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Regards, Sander