Mid-year reviews are the half-time huddle of your performance Superbowl.
If your company doesn’t require mid-year reviews, do them anyway. If your boss doesn’t have one planned for you, why not ask for one?
They’re great times to summarize, celebrate, challenge, and inspire.
Use this mid-year review time to ask great questions that inspire deeper thinking and build a meaningful connection.
Mid-Year Review Questions to Reflect on Performance 
- How are you feeling about the year so far?
- How would you describe what’s happening with this project?
- What are you most proud of this year?
- What lessons have you learned?
- How are you different now than you were 6 months ago?
- What new skills have you developed?
- Where are you stuck?
- What new relationships have you fostered?
Mid-Year Questions to Challenge and Turnaround
- Have you ever had an experience like this before? Can you describe what you did you do that helped at that time?
- What patterns do you see?
- What do you think we should do?
- Which habits would you like to change?
- What’s the most important thing you can do to turn this situation around?
- What additional resources do you need?
- How can I best support you?
Mid-Year Review Questions to Encourage
- What would it look like if?
- What would happen if?
- Or you can use our BECOME tool to inspire deeper encouragement conversations.
Mid-Year Questions to Solicit Feedback
- If you were in my shoes, what would you be doing differently?
- What can I do to better support you and the team?
- What have I done this year that most ticked you off?
- Can you describe what I’m doing that is most helpful to you?
Mid-Year Review Questions to Gather Ideas
These sessions are also a great time to invite team members to share their best ideas to improve the business.
You can simply ask a courageous question or two. Or, invite them to prepare for their mid-year review by bringing you one idea to improve the business.
- What’s one policy that just sucks (and how would you change it)?
- Can you think of one idea that would help you provide a better customer experience?
- What’s one change you could make that would improve your productivity?
- What’s your best idea to improve teamwork and collaboration around here?
- If you could make one change to improve our team huddles what would that be?
If you’ve been using our one-on-one meeting tools on a regular basis, preparing to conduct or receive a review should be that much easier.
And Dear Leader…if work without human-centered practical leadership training is getting a bit too edgy for your liking – or your strategies just aren’t working like you need them to – visit our Live (online or hybrid) Leadership Training page to learn how to build and sustain company-wide change.
Bonus 2020 Update: Mid-Year Review Questions to Ask in a Pandemic or During Times of Major Stress and Change
Let’s start here…
See Also: How to Hold an Effective Mid-Year Review in a Pandemic
Your turn.
What are your favorite mid-year review questions?
What’s the impact if you fall short?
Steve, LOVE THAT!!!
Best advice: If your company doesn’t require them, do it anyway. Big, huge, enormous yes to that. Career and performance check-ins should not only happen annually.
Alli, Thanks so much. So agree. We actually did a study in my last job and found that there was a correlation to employee satisfaction only if they were done well. Done as a check-off actually decreased satisfaction.
GREAT questions. When I was in private practice, I once gave my two direct reports a questionaire, with several questions on it: I told them to be candid. I asked:
1. What are the things I don’t do, you wish I did
2. Do I communicate to you in a way you understand how much I respect admire and approve of you?
3. Do I treat you respectfully and as you would like to be treated?
4. Are there things I could do that would make our relationship better?
5. Is there anything about my actions that you do not find to be ethical or professional.
I got great feedback on this. I’m sure it wasn’t completely forthcoming, but it did elicit some areas for me to improve and I took it to heart.
Bill, That’s FANTASTIC! Thanks for sharing. You could write a post about that 😉
All organizations should offer mid-year reviews as goals are constantly being reassessed with so much change.
Love your questions and might add: If you were in my shoes, what would you do?
Thanks Karin!
Terri, Thanks so much. You are so right. There have been times when I’ve actually found my objectives change entirely by year end. Constant communication is vital.
1. What are some things you have done that call for a celebration?
2. What can make your work more fun?
3. What’s your intent for the next six months?
4. What new things if done can add greater meaning to your work?
5. What will be your biggest contribution to work this year?
Karen
You’ve created so many great questions that it was a challenge to come up with my question. I can see why there was increased employee satisfaction.
“Where do you see yourself in the next 6 months and what do you need from me to get there?”
Cheers
Sue Bock
http://couragetoadventure.com/blog
What do you want to do MORE of and LESS of?
What do you need MORE of from me and LESS of from me?
Hi Tina,
So great to hear from you. Terrific additions!