It’s that time, y’all … the year is winding down and those of us in the corporate world are (or will be) starting the annual review process. Something significant dawned on me from topics in the 1:1 I had with my manager this past week … why do we not provide reviews to our bosses/leaders?
Recently, my 3 up boss stated that he thought my current (major) project is “a lot smaller than” a similar one this summer, because “there are fewer users”. At the same time, he talks and acts like there are 2 additional, identical clones of the Badger. (scary, innit?) Neither of those are true, however … size of users does not directly dictate the size of a project, and there are not 3 of me.
Why can’t I provide him a review?
That is a crazy thought, but “walk” with me. The avenues to leadership feedback are usually limited, maybe there’s an “regular” survey on corporate culture or maybe you have a leader who asks directly for feedback. Otherwise — nothing is available. The more I think on this, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
There should be a 2-way street to providing feedback up and down the corporate ranks. I’m not going to have much feedback about the C-Suite, but I can speak to how leadership in my department functions, from my perspective. If it’s seen as helpful to point out “areas of improvement” for an employee, then I should be able to return that feedback. If I feel I’m not being listened to or taken seriously, I should be able to share that openly with leadership — to work towards growth.
Instead, it’s often mistaken for angst or dismissed as complaints … and they wonder why good people leave employers.
