The Power of Annual Reviews for Personal Development
Talk about taking some things for granted. Especially when it’s a love-hate relationship. I’m talking about Annual Reviews.
I didn’t realize how valuable they can be when you own the process and you line them up with your bigger goal setting for life. I’ve done them for so long, in this way, that I forgot how much they are a part of my process for carving out a high-impact year.
I know I might do things a big differently in terms of how I do my review, so I highlighted key things in my post:
The Power of Annual Reviews for Achieving Your Goals and Realizing Your Potential
Note that if you hate the term Annual Review because it conjures up a bunch of bad memories, then consider calling it your Annual Retrospective. If you’re a Scrum fan, you’ll appreciate the twist.
Here’s the big idea:
If you “own” your Annual Review, you can use taking a look back to take a leap forward.
What I mean is that if you are pro-active in your approach, and if you really use feedback as a gift, you can gain tremendous insights into your personal growth and capabilities.
Here’s a summary of what I do in terms of my overall review process:
- Take a Look Back. In December, I take a look back. For example, this would be my 2013 Year in Review. What did I achieve? What went well? What didn’t go well? How did I do against my 3-5 key goals that really mattered. I use The Rule of 3, so really, I care about 3 significant changes that I can tell a story around for the year (The value of a story is the value of the change, and the value of the change is the value of the challenge.)
- Take a Look Forward. Also in December, I take a look ahead. What are my 3-5 big goals that I want to achieve for this year? I really focus on 3 wins for each year. The key is to hone in on the changes that matter. If it’s not a change, then it’s business as usual, and doesn’t really need my attention because it’s already a habit and I’m already doing it.
- Align Work + Life. When the Microsoft mid-year process starts, I figure out what I want to achieve in terms of themes and goals for the year at work. I’ve already got my bigger picture in mind. Now it’s just a matter of ensuring alignment between work and life. There’s always a way to create better alignment and better leverage, and that’s how we empower ourselves to flourish in work and life.
It’s not an easy process. But that’s just it. That’s what makes it worth it. It’s a tough look at the hard stuff that matters. The parts of the process that make it a challenge are the opportunities for growth. Looking back, I can see how much easier it is for me to really plan out a year of high-impact where I live my values and play to my strengths. I can also see early warning signs and anticipate downstream challenges. I know when I first started, it was daunting to figure out what a year might look like. Now, it’s almost too easy.
This gives me a great chance up front to play out a lot of “What If?” scenarios. This also gives me a great chance right up front to ask the question, if this is how the year will play out, is that the ride I want to be on? The ability to plan out our future capability vision, design a better future, and change our course is part of owning our destiny.
In my experience, a solid plan at the right level, gives you more flexibility and helps you make smarter choices, before you become a frog in the boiling pot.
If you haven’t taken the chance to really own and drive your Annual Review, then consider doing an Annual Retrospective, and use the process to help you leap frog ahead.
Make this YOUR year.
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