Let’s face it: no one looks forward to performance reviews. They can feel like a tedious exercise, filled with awkward conversations and the pressure to justify accomplishments—or even explain why someone’s not getting that long-anticipated promotion. But here’s the thing: performance reviews don’t have to suck.

Leaders can transform these dreaded meetings into opportunities for meaningful growth, development, and collaboration by approaching them with a mindful, human-centered strategy.

In my previous two-part blog series “Performance Reviews Don’t Have to Suck,” I discussed three common pain points that make the annual review process a challenge and a major source of energy drain for my clients.

This article summarizes those pain points and actionable tips to help you turn the annual performance review cycle into a productive and empowering process for you and your team.

If you’re looking for more details than what this article provides, check out the original posts here:

Pain Point 1: Figuring Out What to Write

One of the hardest parts about performance reviews is figuring out what to say about each of your direct reports. Most leaders default to focusing on recent projects rather than assessing the entire year’s performance. This is where reviews tend to fall flat—important achievements or substantial growth from earlier in the year can easily be overlooked.

The Fix: Start tracking growth and wins every month.

By keeping a record of each team member’s progress, big wins, and areas for development throughout the year, you’ll have everything you need to write a more comprehensive and accurate review.

Want additional motivation for this monthly task? It will make your regular 1:1s more impactful by giving you a clearer picture of your team’s growth, and allow you to speak to specific examples you’ve noted month over month.

Bonus Tip: Encourage your team members to track their wins too! This will empower them to own their growth and development year-round.

Pain Point 2: Telling a Team Member They’re Not Ready for a Promotion

Communicating non-promotion or a sub-par raise can be uncomfortable and difficult for leaders. Most employees feel they are ready for a promotion long before they are, putting leaders in a tough position during the annual review process. Whether it’s because our hands are tied with budgets or corporate policy, or your team member just isn’t ready, approaching a conversation where you know you may be letting the other side down isn’t easy.

What makes it worse? It’s not uncommon for different leaders or teams within the same company to have conflicting ideas about what’s required for that next step, leading to confusion, frustration, and disappointment in the eyes of the employee.

The Fix: Set clear expectations for promotion from the start.

Be transparent with your team about what’s required for a promotion, and discuss their progress in regular 1:1 meetings. It’s also helpful to be as transparent as possible about budgets, raises, and the likelihood of promotions if the company is having a tough year. This way, no one’s caught off guard during the year-end review.

My top recommendation to leaders is to create a matrix of key responsibilities and core competencies for each role on their team. This makes it easier for employees to self-evaluate their growth against the matrices for their current role and allows you both to co-create a strategic growth plan that empowers them to grow the core competencies required for the next level.

Want more details on how to address these two common performance review challenges? Check out the first part of this series: Performance Management Reviews Don’t Have to Suck - What You Can Do as a Leader: Part 1.

Pain Point 3: The Meeting Doesn’t Result in Productive Conversations or Action Plans

This is one of the top frustrations I hear from clients: performance reviews feel like a box-checking exercise. Leaders spend more time explaining ratings than having meaningful conversations about future growth, and employees often feel like they’re stuck listening rather than engaging.

The Fix: Set the stage for a meaningful conversation.

First, share the performance review document 24–48 hours before the meeting. This gives your team time to read, process, and reflect on the feedback so that when you meet, they’re ready to have a real discussion, not just react to your ratings.

Second, schedule two meetings instead of one. The first should focus on reviewing the document, allowing space for your employee to ask questions and share their initial reactions. The second meeting, held about a week later, should be all about forward-looking goals and actionable steps for growth.

Additional Tips for Driving Meaningful Conversations

1. Be Patient: Remember, while you’ve been revisiting this information for months, it’s all fresh for your employee. Give them the space they need to process the feedback, and approach the conversation with patience.

2. Treat All Employees Equally: Whether you’re talking to a high performer or someone who needs improvement, approach every conversation with the same energy and preparation. A competency matrix for each role will help you guide both sets of conversations effectively.

3. Ask Thought-Provoking Questions: To make these meetings more than just a feedback session, ask open-ended questions that push your employees to think deeply about their own growth. What motivates them? Where do they want to improve? This shifts the conversation from performance to potential.

4. Finally, please don’t wait until the performance review to share tough news. Consistent feedback throughout the year means no surprises when the review process rolls around. You can have more collaborative and meaningful conversations by minimizing the ‘shock factor’ and keeping your team members out of their stress reactions.

Want more details on driving productive conversations with your team? Check out the following articles for more actionable tips and resources:

Final Thoughts

Performance reviews don’t have to suck. With a little preparation and a mindful approach, these meetings can become powerful tools for growth, collaboration, and engagement. As a leader, your ability to foster open dialogue and provide your team with actionable steps will turn performance reviews from a dreaded task into a meaningful opportunity for development.

Ready to take your leadership to the next level? Explore my other resources, and if you’re interested in 1:1 leadership coaching or leadership development training for your team, I invite you to book a complimentary discovery call with me.

Want to keep in touch? Connect with me on Instagram or LinkedIn, and stay tuned for more tips on embracing the human side of leadership!