Goal-Oriented Performance Review

It's performance review season at Apple. Years ago early in my time at Apple, my self-assessments were vague and modest. I assumed my manager already knew my contributions, big mistake. We all suffer from recency bias. My ratings were average because leadership couldn't see the full picture of my impact. Then, I changed my approach: I built a structured framework that clearly highlighted outcomes, leadership, and feedback. Of course, it all starts with great work but equally important is clearly articulating that impact. The results: better ratings, increased visibility, and accelerated career growth. Now I consistently earn top ratings. Here is how I approach my self assessments now. → 𝑫𝒐 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒌 Bulletproof your results with clear and quantifiable impact. → 𝑨𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝑮𝒐𝒂𝒍𝒔 Map your contributions directly to your team’s OKRs or strategic priorities. Show how you moved the needle. → 𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑’𝒔 𝑽𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 Listen to what your senior leaders praise in All-Hands, town halls, and emails. These are your signals. If you contributed to those priorities, your impact becomes indisputable. → 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 Clearly document how you supported peers, mentored teammates, and collaborated cross-functionally. → 𝑮𝒐 𝑩𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑱𝒐𝒃 Highlight extra initiatives like mentoring, hiring, onboarding, or culture-building. → 𝑺𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝑮𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆 Know the bar and beat the bar. Understanding what is expected is very important to exceed the expectations. → 𝑯𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒚 𝑨𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 Don’t oversell. Don’t underplay. Acknowledge challenges and how you addressed them. → 𝑴𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝑰𝒕 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓 Provide clear, concise, and copy-paste-ready statements to simplify your manager’s job in justifying your top rating. Full post https://lnkd.in/gd6bwk6X I’d love to learn from you too; please share your best practices and thoughts in the comments.

Ever walked into a performance review thinking you will nail it, only to be surprised when your manager focuses on the things you weren’t even responsible for? You’re ready to share your wins, the impact you’ve made, the deadlines you crushed… and then bam, your manager brings up issues you didn’t even know existed. Don't worry. You're not alone. We’ve all been there. Here’s the harsh truth: 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿: you won’t like the result. But you can avoid that nightmare. Here’s how you take control: 1. 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻. Don’t wait till the last minute to remember your wins. Every time you make an impact, write it down. Trust me, at year-end, you won’t remember the specifics—but those details matter. 2. 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘂𝗽𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁. Have regular 1:1s with your manager. Share what’s on your plate and get clear on your responsibilities. It prevents the “I didn’t know” moments from coming up in your review. 3. 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀. What you’re working on should always be aligned to the company goals. If it doesn’t, no matter how much effort and time you put in, it will not be recognised (forget being rewarded.) Don’t let that happen. 4. 𝗕𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲. No one is rooting for you (even if they say that they are!) Don’t wait for people to notice how hard you’re working. Own your story. Share your wins regularly. If you don’t, someone else will write your narrative for you (and it won't be a good one) 5. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀-𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆. Your performance review isn’t just about you and your manager. Your colleagues, stakeholders, and teams could be your biggest advocates—or critics. Nurture those relationships throughout the year. Don't be caught by surprise any more! 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗻. P.S. Want to see exactly how I keep track of my achievements throughout the year? Sign up for my newsletter, and in Monday’s edition, I’ll share a video walking you through my entire process for maintaining a log of accomplishments. You’ll also get access to the template I use to make sure nothing slips through the cracks.