I was brought up in Iowa, where bragging was considered poor taste. It was considered a compliment to say: “They’re rich, but you’d never know it.” “They’re smart, but they don’t flaunt it.”
Needless to say, this attitude makes performance reviews and other performance discussions painful: How do you share your accomplishments when you’re brought up to avoid bragging?
What I found interesting as a leader is how many people struggle with this. It isn’t just an Iowa thing. Over the years, I spent a great deal of time teaching my managers and staff the difference between reporting their activities and reporting their accomplishments.
Examples:
· Conducted a needs assessment is an activity.
Conducted a needs assessment that saves your company $50k annually without reducing product quality is an accomplishment.
· Represented my department on a technical transition team is an activity.
Represented my department on a company-wide technical transition team where I identified 8 adjustments to improve our customer experience is an accomplishment.
It is rewarding to see the shift in people’s view of themselves when they pin their actions to the incredible accomplishments they’ve achieved. They start to understand their value and why they show up in the morning. Those are the performance discussions I enjoy.