Mid year is the time of self-appraisals in most of the organizations. It’s a nightmare to some including me. To Sunita, a good friend of mine it is an occasion where her manager reduces her confidence to bits after relentless badgering. How she wished this could be done away with. Yet she has survived in the same organization for 8yrs now.
Last year during mid year process she asked her manager if she could look for growth by the end of the year. Her manager was all for it, encouraged her, said she was in the right direction. End of the year she was surprised when her letter did not spell out that she has been promoted. She confronted her manager only to be told that she only asked for growth and not promotion. So her workload was doubled as she asked for growth but not her grade or salary. Lesson learnt, in the corporate world be very clear about what you are expecting.
Every year the format of the appraisal would be that her manager would start talking and level a barrage of volleys where she went wrong. Sunita would just listen. When the time came for her to bat the volleys, Sunita’s confidence would have been battered. She forgot what good things she did. In the end all that would get documented was the managers views and her views highly shaped and influenced by managers volleys. By the time Sunita came out of trance the appraisal would have been signed sealed and delivered.
After 8 years my friend decided she would change the game. This time when the mid year session was called my friend decided to be in the drivers seat. This time on entering the room, Sunita set the tone of the discussion. For the first time in life she decided to market herself. She started talking of all great things that she did, so much so that even in failure she pointed out what she learnt out of those and how she implemented those learning’s to deliver on a winning note. Her manager was dumbfounded. He did try to cut her short, but Sunita would not allow. At times she repeated the same facts again and again, but she did not stop. Finally when her mouth completely dried out she asked her manager for his opinion. He agreed after a long pause with some tits and bits of failures. Sunita was magnanimous enough to let him have some of his stance. She asked him point blank if she can expect to be promoted to which he replied yes.
Lesson learnt, you might be intelligent, might be a whiz kid but if you don’t know how to market it, you will never succeed. My boss is quite blunt about it; he is a very good marketing guy with an average intelligence. He always tells me he can hire ten intelligent guys under him and get the task delivered. A six sigma black belt adorns his desk, as he says his pride possession is a result of his marketing skills. He says over a dozen projects were presented for the award, and according to his own admission and that of a judge, his project was well presented though content of others were far better.
Before I conclude I am also one of the dumb intelligent person with zero marketing skills. At times I think I can shine by hiring a marketing guy the way my boss hires intelligent people. The fact however is that only those that are visible sells. So I will still remain in the background. The present model works better J.
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