Bangkok Post - The year end is a good time to sit down and conduct a self-evaluation. Why? Because, in Thailand people are reluctant to give us feedback. We believe that criticising each other will jeopardise relationships. In fact, constructive feed...
Hence, we need to give ourselves feedback. Find some time alone, and do the following exercise. To benefit from self-reflection, follow these guidelines:
- Don't take it personally. Nobody is perfect. It's normal that we have some flaws, as long as we recognise and improve them.
- Have an open mind; do not think of yourself in only positive terms.
- Be honest with yourself.
- Recall remarks from your peers, family and subordinates. You will see some patterns.
Let's do self-reflection for each group, starting with leaders:
- What went well this year?
- What went wrong?
- What did I learn?
- What will be challenges for me next year?
- How will I prepare: team, organisation and myself?
- Who will be my successor?
- How will I prepare that person?
- And see all others below!
Now here are some questions for managers:
- How did I want my staff to regard me?
- What did they actually think?
- If it was not the same as I had planned, why not? How should I modify my actions next year?
- How did my department perform? Why?
- What went well this year? Why? Should I maintain the same approach or should I modify something?
- What went wrong this year? How will I prevent that from reoccurring?
- What did I learn this year that I can share with others?
- What are the challenges for next year?
- How could I prepare my team and myself?
Knowledge workers: Knowledge worker, a term coined by the management theorist Peter Drucker in 1959, is someone who works primarily with information, or someone who develops and uses knowledge in the workplace. Ask yourself:
- How did I perform this year?
- If my boss was really honest with me, what would be the constructive feedback?
- What would be the positive feedback?
- What would be areas for improvement?
- What are the knowledge and skills that I need to cope with next year's challenges?
- Are my existing knowledge and skills sufficient enough to take me through next year?
- What are the skills and knowledge that might be obsolete in the near future?
- What else could I do to prepare myself to cope with next year's challenges?
- Who could help me?
- How could I share my knowledge with others? Remember, your knowledge will not be maximised if you don't teach others. The more you teach, the more you know.
If you received a low score on a performance evaluation, consider this: There is nothing wrong with getting a low score. Life is a long series of lessons. A low score is not the end of the world. In fact, it's a sign that you need to review yourself with honesty. People who receive low ratings feel that the boss or organisation is not fair. It's a normal defence mechanism. Do yourself a favour. Stop thinking like that because you will never learn anything from that kind of mindset. Ask the following questions:
- Why did you get a low score? What is the real root cause: attitude, skills, knowledge or talent?
- Do you work best in this organisation culture? If not, what should you do?
- If you are really honest with yourself, what are the things you must change in order to improve your rating next time?
- Does this work really fit you or would you rather quit and do something else?
- inally, here are some tips for people who are seeking employment:
- What are my strengths in terms of skills, knowledge and talents?
- What is my passion?
- What would be the role that fits my strengths?
- What kind of organisation would I be comfortable working with: harmonious, relaxed, competitive or performance oriented?
- If you prepare yourself for an interview:
- How do you know about the organisation?
- Why do you want to work there?
- Why do they have to take you as an employee?
- How does this work align with your long-term career plan?
- How could you contribute to the organisation?
- How do you prepare to stay for more than three years? In the first year you learn, in the second year you contribute and in the third year you do extraordinary work that prepares you for climbing the corporate ladder.
When you go to an interview, once the interviewer finishes, ask that person:
- What went well?
- What could be improved?
- What suggestion could he or she could recommend for you to have a better interview the next time?
After each interview, ask yourself:
- What went well?
- What could be improved?
- What did I learn?
Kriengsak Niratpattanasai provides executive coaching in leadership and diversity management under the brand TheCoach. He can be reached at coachkriengsak@yahoo.com. Copies of previous columns are available at www.thaicoach.com.
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