Self-evaluation is pretty commonplace in organizations these days. They help not only employees set aside time to evaluate their performance but also managers learn if employees understand the impact of their work.
But can self-evaluations help managers understand their own performance in the workplace?
Ford Myers, author of the book Get The Job You Want, Even When No One’s Hiring, thinks they can. He says that self-evaluations help you to reflect on how you’re doing in your career (not just your job) and to build your perceived value to the company you work for.
I couldn’t agree more.
As a leadership consultant, I certainly count self-awareness among the qualities of a good leader. And self-awareness begins with self-evaluation.
If you’re a manager, your responsibilities go far beyond making sure the work is done. You also have to help develop a quality workforce so the company can meet its goals. What better way than to start with yourself?
If They’re So Beneficial, Why Don’t All Leaders Do Self-Evaluations?
Good question. What’s stopping them? Some managers think self-evaluations are a waste of time because it’s hard to see concrete results. They prefer to spend their time on activities that produce tangible outcomes. Others avoid them simply because they don’t know how to do one.
But for most, I suspect, it’s the fear of owning up to their shortcomings. Of making themselves feel uncomfortable. It’s akin to standing in front of a full-length mirror in a brightly lit changing room to try on a new outfit. There’s just no hiding from the truth, and if you have something to hide, why put yourself through the ordeal.
Let’s take a look at those benefits a little more closely.
The Benefits of Self-Evaluation for Personal Career Development
The thought of assessing your own leadership performance might make you squirm, but you shouldn’t ignore the substantial benefits that you’ll get in return. An objective self-evaluation can help you:
- Optimize your abilities and overcome your limitations
Why wait for your boss to tell you in an appraisal your strengths and weaknesses as a manager? Take the initiative—like every good leader—and decide for yourself what behavior you need to change or reinforce. Reminding yourself (and your direct line) of your achievements is a natural confidence booster. However, identifying additional skills training or leadership coaching is just as important. After all, if you don’t know what you need, how can you ask for it? - Develop as a leader and as a person
A thorough self-evaluation goes much further that listing your failures and accomplishments. It forces you to examine your own mindset and to question your attitude to team members. We all have our own way of viewing other people, but recognizing our assumptions (some common, some hidden, some false) can be tricky indeed. Unless you’re willing to spend time identifying those assumptions, you run the risk of accepting that any behavioral problems in your team are always the fault of others rather than yourself. Great leaders are incredibly self-aware, so developing your level of self-awareness is a good habit to acquire. - Become more productive
Research by Harvard Business School shows that self-evaluation improves your productivity: employees who spent fifteen minutes every day reflecting on lessons learned performed 23% better after ten days of reflection than colleagues who didn’t do any self-reflection at all. - Advance your professional career
Discovering how your team, peers and direct line see you helps you understand better your place in the organization. It’s possible that you’re under-estimating your standing in the company, in which case a self-evaluation will encourage you to aim higher. At the other end of the scale, you may be over-estimating your effectiveness as a manager and it’s time to adjust your opinions and your competences. Either way, conducting open conversations with key colleagues can help you identify priorities, set objectives, and stay on track.
How Do You Self-Evaluate as a Leader?
It’s not easy. Doing a self-assessment requires you to be honest and objective and to ask tough questions. It requires you to take a long, hard look at yourself in that mirror. Breaking the process down into four key areas enables you to identify your priorities and development areas:
- List and track your achievements (not just yours but also your team’s) by naming specific projects and their value to the company.
- Identify your shortcomings and what you need to overcome them (leadership skills program, professional certification, coaching or mentoring, etc.) by:
- thinking about mistakes that you and/or your team made and asking yourself how you could have prevented them
- getting feedback from other people (peers, staff and supervisors)
- checking your job description to see if you’re meeting company expectations
- Question your own attitude to various situations and people by:
- comparing your reactions to how others would have reacted in the same scenario
- examining difficult working relationships and identifying possible bias on your part
- Determine your short-term objectives and long-term goals so that you consider not only your job but also your career
How Often Should Leaders Perform A Self-Evaluation?
The most effective self-evaluations are the ones that are done regularly. Whether that’s weekly, monthly or annually is up to you, although the more frequently you do them, the less arduous you’ll find them (like all good habits). Plus, the less time you leave between evaluations, the more opportunities you’ll create to develop your leadership skills and build your career.
Closing thoughts
Self-evaluation is a valuable tool to have in your manager’s skill set. Let’s face it, your chances of success are much greater if your motivation to improve comes from within rather than from someone else.
Are you curious about options to sharpen your leadership skills? Try out the Leader Workout Group™
AUTHOR BOX
Nancy Maki, LMHC, SPHR is the President and Managing Partner of Open Gate Consulting in Seattle, WA. Nancy is a leadership development consultant focused on building influential leaders. She has spent over 20 years walking with leaders as they navigate some of their most complicated issues. Contact Nancy at 206/512-7109 or nmaki@opengateresources.com