Performance reviews, when done right, are so much more than a tick-box exercise. Especially when working with your leaders, they provide an opportunity to sit down together and have a good talk about everything you normally don’t have the time to talk about. Make best use of these meetings to better understand the contributions they are giving to achieving the company’s goals, to celebrate outstanding (or little) achievements, and to set the stage for future success.
It’s about exploring not just what was achieved but how it was done, and about learning what how you can improve together moving forward.
By using open-ended, reflective questions, you can unlock deeper insights into the employee’s performance and leadership potential, driving both personal and professional development.
Preparing for the Meeting
Before diving into the meeting, preparation is key. Take the time to review the individual’s key performance indicators (KPIs), their contributions to team projects, and any feedback gathered from colleagues. But beyond this, think about their personal aspirations and how these fit within the company’s broader goals. Reflect on their ability to lead, their authenticity, and how they’ve fostered a culture of collaboration and trust within their team.
Ask yourself: How has this person helped shape the team’s success? How have they demonstrated leadership, and where do they have room to grow?
Open-Ended Questions to Drive Insightful Dialogue
The heart of a productive performance review lies in the questions asked. Open-ended questions allow for a more nuanced conversation and help you gauge not just the employee’s results, but their thinking and future potential. Below are a few examples for questions that can drive deeper insights:
- What was your biggest achievement this year, and how did it contribute to the team’s success?
- How do you balance short-term operational results with long-term strategic goals in your role?
- What’s one area you’d like to improve on to further align with the company’s vision?
- How have you contributed to building a culture of continuous feedback and growth within your team?
Here you can find a collection of questions to pick from for your meeting: 100 Questions for your Performance Review Meetings with Leaders
Structure the Conversation Around Key Themes
An effective performance review revolves around a few core themes. Structuring the conversation ensures that you cover all aspects of performance, from operational results to personal growth, and helps guide the dialogue toward actionable outcomes.
1. Alignment of Personal Vision with Company Goals
Everyone has a vision for the own future, and this vision guides the action. Begin by exploring how the individual’s guiding vision and personal aspirations align with the company’s objectives. This alignment is essential for maintaining motivation and ensuring that your colleague feels fulfilled in their role. Ask questions such as:
- How do you see your personal goals contributing to the company’s larger vision?
- How have you ensured that your personal targets and KPIs align with the company’s strategic objectives?
- In what ways have your personal visions and values influenced your approach to work this year?
- Can you provide specific examples of how your action has directly contributed to the achievement of company KPIs?
- How do you track and measure your personal effectiveness in contributing to realising the company’s strategic goals?
2. Leadership and Authenticity
Assess how the individual has taken on the leadership role. Authentic leadership—being true to oneself while leading others—is a critical factor in their success in guiding a team. Explore how they’ve handled challenges and fostered trust within their teams.
- How have you embodied authentic leadership this year?
- Can you provide an example of a difficult situation where you had to make a tough decision for your team?
- What steps have you taken to create a trusting environment that leads to consistent delivery on team KPIs?
- What role has your leadership played in improving your team’s ability to meet their KPIs?
- How do you measure the impact of trust and transparency within your team on operational efficiency?
3. Guiding and Supporting Subordinates
Dive into how well they’ve supported their subordinates, fostered a culture of feedback, and promoted collaboration within the team. These elements are vital to driving team success and ensuring long-term productivity.
- How do you ensure your team’s performance KPIs are directly aligned with the company’s key objectives?
- How have you promoted the professional growth of your team members?
- What actions have you taken to foster a collaborative, trusting environment?
- What role has feedback played in improving your team’s performance, and how do you measure its impact on KPIs?
- How have you fostered cross-functional collaboration, and what measurable results have been achieved as a result?
4. Contribution to Measurable Results
It’s important to tie the conversation back to individual tangible results. Review KPIs and specific contributions that led to the achievement of team and company goals. This is where you measure performance and explore how they’ve contributed to real outcomes.
- How do you measure your success in terms of operational results and team performance?
- What specific initiatives have you implemented to ensure your team meets or exceeds their performance targets?
- How have you addressed underperformance in your team to ensure alignment with departmental KPIs?
- Can you walk me through a project where you feel your contribution had the most significant impact on your team’s KPIs?
- On which objectives do you feel that you did not achieve the best possible results under the circumstances?
5. Setting Goals and Looking Forward
The final part of the performance review should focus on the individual development of the leader and setting measurable, actionable goals for the future. Start with updating or adapting the vision in the long term career development to define a guiding star, and break them down into measurable objectives of self-development, goals for the team, and operational goals. Make sure that these objectives are aligned with both the individual’s personal development and the company’s larger objectives. Encourage them to take ownership of their own professional growth and at the same time foster the collaboration and trust within their team and between different units that leads to collective success.
- What’s your vision for your personal career in 5 years, and what has to happen that you can achieve it?
- What are your key priorities for the next year, and how do they align with the company’s strategic goals?
- Where do you see your strongest assets, and how do you plan to make best use of them in creating outstanding results?
- Which specific skills do you want to develop further in the next year, for what purpose, and how?
- How can we better support your development to help you achieve these goals?
A Path to Fulfilment and Success
Performance review meetings, when done thoughtfully, serve as a powerful tool for growth. They’re not just about evaluating results—they’re about fostering leadership, promoting collaboration, and aligning personal goals with the company’s mission. As we enter this season of reflection, take the time to engage in meaningful conversations that explore both operational results and personal growth. By asking the right questions and encouraging open dialogue, you create a space for employees to reflect on their contributions, realign their efforts, and set the stage for future success—both for themselves and for the organization.
