If you've allowed your employees to participate in establishing their performance goals, they'll approach the meeting with less fear. Why? Their involvement allows them to feel more secure in their understanding of these goals. Comfort is the companion of knowledge; fear accompanies uncertainty. The level of fear that your employees bring to the appraisal meeting is a function of their knowledge of the goals.

We've already discussed the importance of allowing the employee to monitor his performance. If the employee knows what's expected of him, and the two of you use the same information to monitor his progress, there should be no disagreement about his performance. Again, knowledge removes uncertainty and fear.

Even if your employee knows that he hasn't performed well, he will not experience fear. He doesn't fear low ratings; he expects them. In this situation, you don't have to overcome fear; you have to find out why the fear of failure doesn't motivate this employee. In essence, you have to determine why, in the face of poor performance, this employee didn't change his behavior. Some possible explanations are that the employee

These are some of the more common reasons why employees ignore the warning signs provided by performance feedback. Are these the only reasons? Certainly not, but I doubt that I could come up with an all-inclusive list if I tried.

I'm sure it doesn't surprise you to hear that an employee's selfconfidence determines the level of fear experienced. We know that people who lack self-confidence are always concerned about what others think of them. Since they feel inadequate, they live in constant fear of disappointing others. So it's natural that the performance appraisal process engenders an inordinate amount of fear for them.

What may surprise you is that even very confident employees experience some fear. Let's be honest. Each of us cares about what others think of us. The possibility that someone may think poorly of us is disconcerting. Oh, I'm sure you've known people who insist that they don't care what others think; you may have even made that statement yourself once or twice. When I hear someone disavow interest in the opinion of others, I'm reminded of the line, "Me thinks he doth protest too much."

The question isn't "Will the employee come to the appraisal with or without fear?" The question is "How much fear will the employee bring to the table?" The employee's level of self-confidence is a good indicator of the amount of fear you should expect.

As we discussed in an earlier lesson, there are significant differences between encouraging, neutral, and critical styles. The farther toward the critical end of the spectrum you are, the more likely the employee is to fear the appraisal meeting. The greater the fear, the more work you have in front of you.

In Lesson 8, "Three Approaches to Performance Appraisals," I discuss the following approaches to performance appraisals:

Two of these three approaches allow the employee to privately review the evaluation in advance of the meeting. Employees who have the opportunity to consider the evaluation and prepare their responses are more confident when entering the appraisal meeting. In our discussion of self-confidence we learned that there is an inverse relationship between confidence and fear. The more confidence someone has, the less fear he experiences, and vice versa.

I have noted that fear accompanies uncertainty. Until the employee sees his evaluation, he is uncertain about your opinion of his performance and his future. While you cannot separate fear from uncertainty, you can change the venue for dealing with it.

By permitting the employee to review the appraisal in advance of the meeting, you allow him to deal with his fears privately, rather than in the "public" environment of an appraisal meeting. Most people find it easier to deal with their fears in private than in public. You can remove a lot of the fear from the appraisal meeting by simply allowing the employee to review the evaluation in advance of the meeting.

Let the employee know that this meeting is designed to celebrate his accomplishments since the last appraisal and position him for even greater success in the future.

It's important to let the employee know that you are judging his performance, not him. The more your language focuses on achievements, behavior, and skills, the less likely you are to hurt the individual's feelings. We often hear this advice in parenting classes when we are told to first make sure the child knows he's loved, then tell him how he could have behaved more appropriately. The same concept applies here.

Two important elements of the appraisal process are candor and disagreement. First, you must be candid with your employees. That means you don't sugarcoat low ratings or offer excessive praise with high ratings. As soon as your language diverges from your beliefs, you lose the respect of your employees.

Similarly, you have to let employees know that you expect candor from them, especially when they disagree with you. Let them know that disagreement is the foundation for future agreement. Assure them that they can disagree with you without fear of retribution. Finally, remind them that you are going to speak only of their performance and not of them as individuals. Tell them that you expect the same consideration when they disagree with you.

During the performance appraisal, it's not unusual to learn that you've contributed to an employee's performance problems. The natural tendency is to become defensive. Don't! You will gain a tremendous amount of respect from your employees when you take responsibility for your actions.

Ask the employee for ideas on how you can prevent a recurrence of this problem. Reach a conclusion that makes sense to both of you. If the problem is the result of a lifetime habit, ask the employee to remind you whenever he sees you adopting the old habit. Let him know that you will appreciate his help. Not only will you gain the respect of this employee, but more than likely, he'll tell his co-workers of your integrity, and you'll gain their respect as well.

Your employee is going to be a lot more open to your suggestions for improvement if he isn't worrying about his salary increase.

Here's what happens when you try to combine salary reviews and performance appraisals. Every time you indicate a need for improvement, the employee is thinking, "What's this going to do to my raise?" With that thought in mind, he can't help but resist or at least trivialize your improvement suggestion.

Contrast that with an improvement suggestion accompanied by the promise of a future salary increase. It's a no-brainer, right? You don't mind accepting new performance targets as long as you will be rewarded financially for achieving those targets. If you want your employees to be open to improvement suggestions and new performance targets, separate the appraisal from the salary review by six months.

You didn't get your promotion by seeing problems without seeing solutions. Similarly, you don't see improvement opportunities for your employees without seeing approaches for them to employ. That's as it should be. There are, however, serious dangers involved in telling your employees how to improve.

First, no one likes being told what to do. If you tell your employees what approach they should use to improve performance, they'll resist. It doesn't matter how good your approach is, you will create resistance by requiring them to use it.

The second danger is that your approach may not lend itself to the employee's style. For example, I'm an auditory learner. I learn by listening. If I have an employee who learns by doing and I ask him to use an audio program to acquire new skills, I'm throwing an obstacle in his way. I am asking him to employ a learning style that's unnatural for him. He may be able to acquire the skill this way, but it certainly isn't an effective approach.

The third danger is that you might be overlooking approaches that could be even more effective. I have yet to meet anyone who has all the answers. The reality is, there is a plethora of approaches that will work, and we don't know them all.

These are compelling arguments for allowing your employees to choose their own devices for improving performance. Only when you know that their approach won't work, should you intervene in this decision. You owe your employees suggestions on how to improve performance. You also owe them the benefit of your experience and insights in evaluating alternative approaches. You shouldn't, however, make the decision for them. After all, it's the result you're after, not the approach.

As you employ the techniques described in this lesson, you'll find that the appraisal meeting is energizing. You and your employees will develop a stronger bond. Together you've set the stage for your mutual success, and that of your company as well.

Your willingness to hear your employees' thoughts, ideas, and opinions will ingratiate you to them. Your ability to admit your failings and your desire to improve serve as models for them.

There is one more very important benefit you'll gain. Future appraisals will be much easier—easier for you because you've become more adept at them, and easier for your employees because they know they're going to be encouraged, not criticized.