Without a doubt, the peer rating is by far the most consistent shocker for folks taking a 360 degree feedback assessment. Managers usually have a good grip on what their boss thinks, and at least an inkling of the pain points for their direct reports, but for some reason peer feedback tends to feel like stepping on a Lego in the middle of the night– yikes, where did THAT come from?
As I work with managers to dig underneath such painful perceptions, here are 8 key issues that continue to surface.
8 Reasons Your Peers Rate You Poorly
- You fight for your team at all costs.
Of course this is generally a good characteristic, but anything taken to extremes can become toxic. Sometimes the best person for the special assignment is not the guy on your team, it’s Bobby on Mark’s team. Sometimes your team screws up. Sometimes the bigger bonus needs to go to the guy on the other team who knocked it out of the park, even though your teams been working hard too. Yes, advocate for your team. But also take a step back to be able to stay objective. - You hoard talent.
You’ve nurtured gaggle of A players, but now you’re afraid to let them go. You’re sure to put the best talent on your projects and give the leftovers to support other objectives. - You’re lazy.
They’re tired of picking up the slack. - They don’t know you.
You show up, do you work, and go home. You don’t let anyone know who you are a person. It’s hard to trust a bot. - You don’t know them.
You work side-by-side but never take a personal interest in anything they’re doing. They’re far more likely to trust the guy in the next cube who remembers their mother is ill and that they like to eat pizza on Tuesdays. - You withhold best practices.
You’ve figured out a way to do the work faster, cheaper, or with higher quality–and you enjoy being at the top of the stack rank, so you’re slow to share the secret to your success. - You don’t follow-through.
They can’t count on you to do what you say you will. - You under-communicate.
You’re doing great work, but it’s in a silo. No one knows quite what is going on.
If you don’t know where you stand with your peers, it’s worth asking. Effective peer relationships are one of the consistent predictors of career advancement.
Now Available
At last, my next book, Winning Well (being published by AMACOM) is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
It can feel like a rigged game. Executives set impossible goals, so managers drive their teams to burnout trying to deliver. Employees demand connection and support, so managers focus on relationships and fail to make the numbers. The fallout is stress, frustration, and disengagement, and not just among team members―two-thirds of managers report being disengaged.
To succeed, managers need balance: they must push people to achieve while creating an environment that makes them truly want to. Winning Well offers a quick, practical action plan―complete with examples, stories, online assessments, and more―for getting the results you need. Managers learn how to:
• Stamp out the corrosive win-at-all-costs mentality
• Focus on the game, not just the score
• Reinforce behaviors that produce results
• Set clear expectations―delegating outcomes rather than focusing on process
• Celebrate even small successes
• Correct poor performance using the INSPIRE accountability method
• Demonstrate confidence and humility
• Energize teams to sustain excellent performance
• And more!
Today’s hypercompetitive economy has created tense, overextended workplaces. Keep it productive, rewarding, and even fun with this one-stop success kit.
I know this book will add value for your teams. Pre-orders significantly help the positioning of the book in the marketplace. I truly appreciate the support of the LGL community in spreading the word, and buying some advance copies for your team.
I’m also booking keynotes and workshops for the Winning Well book tour this Spring. Please call me at 443 750-1249 to discuss further.
Love the points you make, Karin!
I am definitely guilty of this one: hoarding talent. When I find good people, I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep them! And I often do not care what my peers think of me as long as 1) I get the job done, and 2) upper management is satisfied.
This has not always earned me a reputation for being a team player, but I am a firm believer that once teams need to come together to get a job done, we are all on the same team…and then I start hoarding my good talent again… 🙂
LaRae, Shame on you 😉 It’s surely a balancing act…thanks as always for extending the conversation.
Karin, what do you think of 360 reviews as a methodology? I know most don’t have a choice in the matter, so this is a valuable blog post regardless of your belief in it being the best system of review. A former CEO at Symantec that I liked thought they were too often just a crutch for managers who just didn’t want to take the time to really get to know their team and how they were perceived by external groups on their own.
James, I’m a big believer in 360 reviews as a developmental tool. That’s why it’s an integral part of my Results that Last Program. Orchestrated well and with the right support, they can provide valuable insights into blindspots and create great fodder for future discussions. It sounds to me what your CEO was talking about is 360 reviews for evaluation purposes. Those are more tricky and can only work in a culture of deep trust and with strong communication. GREAT question.
Ah, yes, you are correct. I was thinking of 360 reviews completely in the context of being for an employees yearly evaluation that then equates to part of the equations for raise percentages. Was not aware of another context. Isn’t it funny how we always assume our corporations usage for a term must be universal and monolithic. Silliness.