No. This piece is not about taxation. This is about you, me and us. The months between late November and March is a period when in most organizations, there is a thrilling drill that goes on towards conducting performance appraisals of staff, at almost all levels of the corporate ladder. The general mood in the entities is one of positive hope and expectation. You and your performance is assessed by the supervisor.
No. This piece is not about taxation. This is about you, me and us. The months between late November and March is a period when in most organizations, there is a thrilling drill that goes on towards conducting performance appraisals of staff, at almost all levels of the corporate ladder. The general mood in the entities is one of positive hope and expectation. You and your performance is assessed by the supervisor.
The purpose essentially is meant to take stock of what were the planned objectives for the year? And then to examine, what was actually achieved. It is all about efforts made during the year to realize the goals; in doing so, it is an evaluation of what did you have to get there (destination) and what is it that you did not have, to get there. The area of focus therefore is your possession of the necessary education level, knowledge, skills, talent and traits; alternatively the assessment exercise can help identify the lack of these aspects or their inadequacy. To use T.S. Eliot’s words, “It is not enough to understand what we ought to be, unless we know what we are; and we do not understand what we are, unless we know what we ought to be”. The performance appraisal is hence a determination between actual achievement versus the expectations.
For any supervisor to do a fair assessment, it is best to firstly recognize that he/she is beset with numerous limitations. Barring Divinity, nobody and nobody, including the immediate supervisor can ever get to dispassionately, without prejudice, bias, fear or favor, get to assess, “you”, in either fullness or in exactitude -- it is only “you”, who can honestly assess yourself. Facing the mirror can anyone command it to reflect and convey to oneself/ yourself that you are a look alike of Robert Redford, Paul Newman or Tom Cruise or Lady Gaga, or Demi Moore, reality stares back; even the ever obedient magic mirror on the wall of the Queen, refused to lie, once it had knowledge of someone other than the Queen to be more beautiful.
Hence, who is best placed to assess? It is you. Readers would recall that in 2006 the TIME Magazine, in naming the ‘man/person of the year’ took a departure; unlike choosing in the past persons like Martin Luther King jr, Hitler, etc, it chose “you” as man of the year. Their basis for doing so was recognition of how individuals were being empowered by new technology and fresh body of knowledge. Against this backdrop is the need to “assess” yourself. Between the start and end of the year, are you the same person or a changed person, obviously for better should be the purpose of any evaluation.
It is a norm that immediately after university education, begins the education to lead a successful professional life. All of us begin to learn on the job. Self-assessment must be done at the very start of the career to know and judge, whether you are at the right place or is it a job/assignment that forfeits completely the potential possessed.
In my opinion and experience, the young officers/executives spend very little time to do an introspection; hence most ignore to improve their knowledge and skill base. They rely upon what is handed down at the University and expect it to remain relevant until they hang their boots. If any is to retire at say, sixty year of age, the expectation is to avail knowledge acquired 35-40 years back, in the present and future. This is done by most and hence the competition for the numero Uno position is not as intense as it is in the west or even the far east; because with such attitude, a lot of individuals get way laid.
For acquisition of fresh knowledge, only a few are fortunate, whose hands are held by their managers, who selflessly mentor and guide, for better career prospects. An individual must identify gaps in skill and talent, do a self assessment, to find ways for improving and filling those loop-holes. Do not entrust your future in the hands of others; largely supervisors are disinterested, who are weak to consider the progress of others as a direct threat to their own importance. They fail to judiciously assess “you”. “Sink in thyself! there ask what ails thee, at the shrine” (Mathew Arnold). Self assessment requires an honest analysis of the person you are; what do you represent to the outside world; and your human qualities like tolerance, respect, empathy and grace. A fair opinion about oneself should permit the fortification of recognizable strengths and recognition to jettison from the persona, the qualities and traits that pull you southwards.
Those who wish to progress in their chosen fields ought to possess, in my view and hence the need to continously supplement and fortify knowledge of the following subjects; Mathematics, Finance, History and Geography. (Knowledge of literature is always a welcome boon). It is so painful to see today’s youngsters with Master’s degree not to be able to tell, which country(Production source) lies where and where is the buying country located. Many cannot distinguish between what are Pacific Rim countries and what are Atlantic Rim countries- and yet they could be handling foreign trade. Ask, a youngster, if Beijing is a port city? Shock yourself with the answer, you would get.
A good route for self-assessment is to seek from friends, peers and also from immediate family members, an informal feedback about yourself. The formal feedback mechanism has many loopholes for misguiding. Since it is for records for all times to come; there is a tendency to push weakness under the carpet or conversely to magnify strengths beyond their actual potential and presence. Feedback from others could be corruptively true or false. In my estimation, while there is no harm to get external feedback, but what is of more significance is to engage in self-assessment -- introspection, if you may, is the key to knowing and judging honestly your unique strengths and weaknesses. If you know yourself, you would know others.
Corporate gypsies and nomads; and all those who wish to avoid self assessment and revelation of their persona; and in fear thereof resort to changing jobs after every 3-4 years. This is done mostly to circumvent the possibility of getting exposed.
Don’t let presumptuousness attack you while indulging in self-assessment. It demands wisdom. Being a stranger to oneself will inevitably lead towards being stranger to others. Be sincere in dealing with yourself. Let there be sincerity in self-confrontation. In doing self assessment, never pretend to be a fox sitting as jury at a Goose’s Trail. Self assessment is akin to standing before a clean mirror, with no mist upon it. The feedback one gets is pure, unadulterated and true. Own opinions are rarely wrong.
Self discovery has the potential to make some insane. We see no dirt in our eyes, but our dirty eyes makes all to appear as dirty- so you would know the problem lies where.
Self assessment, unlike performance appraisal should not be a once in a year exercise. It must be done at shorter intervals. However, caution must be exercised if excessive and unfair self-assessment leads to recognition of only the fault lines, it can land you into the cavity of self-pity. Self assessment is not to be a tool for self inflicting depression. Beware of no man than thyself..
The writer is a senior banker and freelance columnist
