Performance management processes have been different at every company I’ve worked in, ranging from “basically non-existent” at a 15 person startup to “months of work for managers each review period followed by clear expectations that growth feedback will be given throughout the year” in big tech world. Some of these differences are good and bad, most are more about the context of the company. I’ve found that regardless of process there are 4 things that it’s important for a team member to align with their manager on throughout the year. Hopefully there’s process supporting this, but if not both the team member or the manager can take the initiative to make it happen.

Focus - Where should the teammate be putting their energy? Depending on seniority and the level of change within the organization, this might be something to resync on every 6 months, monthly, weekly or even daily[^1].

Baseline Expectations - It’s important to agree not just what you’re trying to do but what results are expected. This means being clear on what a team member is and isn’t responsible for, what success looks like, and giving feedback when the manager believes things are off track or a miss has occurred.

Opportunities - This is about above and beyond. What things aren’t expected but could be an opportunity for growth (to help the team/business, show that the teammate is ready for a promotion, or ideally both)? It’s useful to clearly delineate these from expectations, so that you don’t risk a lack of clarity on what is “good enough”, which can cause unnecessary stress/burnout or poor prioritization.

Risks - I find that this part is usually left implicit, but its helpful to align up front on what likely areas of failure might be, where the teammate and manager see the most risk of missing expectations (or finding out that the expectations weren’t correct!). This could be due to ambiguity, a known skill gap from the team member or those they’re collaborating with, a new type of challenge, or business level needs/expectations that aren’t realistic.

[^1] Long term syncing daily on priorities/focus areas might be micro-managing or a sign that the team member is struggling to manage their own work, but it can be useful in a rapidly changing environment or during onboarding for a time