Ah yes, performance reviews—the time-honored tradition where we gather in a room (or worse, on Zoom), rehash the past year’s chaos, and pretend we’ve been tracking goals all along. Done right, reviews are a guiding compass. Done wrong? They’re a morale-crushing corporate ritual that makes people question life choices.
So, how do we fix this mess? Enter SMART goals, one of the secret weapons that keeps reviews from feeling like a slow-motion train wreck. But let’s go beyond just individuals—performance matters at every level, from personal growth to portfolios. Let’s break it down.
Performance Reviews at Every Level: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Performance reviews shouldn’t just exist to check a corporate compliance box. They should drive focus, alignment, and yes—actual improvement. But their effectiveness varies wildly depending on the level:
| Level | What Should Be Measured? | What Usually Happens (Dysfunction Alert) | Fix (Use SMART Goals) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal (e.g., Ops Manager, PM, Engineer) | Skills, efficiency, impact on team goals | Vague feedback: “Be more strategic.” | Set specific learning & execution goals. |
| Team (e.g., Project Manager, Scrum Master) | Collaboration, delivery consistency, velocity | Finger-pointing: “We missed deadlines.” | Define success in measurable terms (e.g., cycle time). |
| Project (e.g., Program Manager) | Scope, budget, timelines, risk management | Focus on outputs over outcomes: “You delivered, but…” | Align reviews with project OKRs. |
| Program (e.g., Portfolio Manager) | Dependencies, efficiency across projects | Reviews become status reports. | Focus on cross-team goals and risk mitigation success. |
| Portfolio (e.g., Chief PMO) | Strategic alignment, ROI, resource allocation | Politics over performance: “Let’s make it look good.” | Use transparent, data-driven reviews. |
See the problem? Reviews often punish instead of guide. Let’s fix that.
Five Best Practices to Make Performance Reviews Actually Useful
1. Set SMART Goals (Duh, but really do it this time)
The fix for vague feedback like “be a better leader” is specificity:
- Old Review: “Improve stakeholder management.”
- SMART Version: “Conduct bi-weekly check-ins with key stakeholders, reducing escalations by 30%.”
The moment goals become Specific,Measurable, Actionable , Relevant and Time-bound, people actually know what’s expected. Revolutionary, I know.
2. Make Reviews Frequent (Not Just an Annual Ambush)
If your performance review is the first time someone hears they’re struggling, congratulations—you’ve failed as a leader.
- Fix: Quarterly check-ins with progress updates prevent surprises and help course-correct before disaster strikes.
- Example: A PM gets feedback mid-year that their risk reporting is weak. Instead of tanking their annual review, they get six months to fix it.
3. Evaluate Both Outcomes and Behaviors
Ever met someone who delivers results but leaves a trail of destruction? Yeah, me too. Performance isn’t just about what gets done, but how it’s done.
- Bad Review: “Met delivery goals, but some people complained.”
- Better Review: “Delivered on time, but team engagement dropped 40%. Improve collaboration while maintaining velocity.”
If your top performer makes everyone quit, are they really a top performer?
4. Align Individual Goals with Business Objectives
Performance reviews often feel disconnected from the bigger picture. Fix it by ensuring individual goals tie back to team, project, and portfolio-level priorities.
- Example: Instead of “Improve reporting,” a program manager’s goal should be “Implement a reporting framework that improves executive decision-making efficiency by 20%.”
When people see how their work moves the needle, they stay engaged.
5. Use the Right Mix of Metrics and Qualitative Feedback
Not everything can be boiled down to numbers, but reviews without any data are just opinion-fests.
- Quantitative: Delivery speed, budget adherence, risk reduction.
- Qualitative: Leadership skills, stakeholder management, innovation.
Both matter. Nobody wants to be just a set of KPIs on a slide deck.
Templates to Steal (You’re Welcome)
1. Personal Performance Review Template (Ops Manager, PM, Engineer)
✅ What went well?
✅ What could be improved?
✅ How did you contribute to team success?
✅ Current SMART goal progress update.
✅ New SMART goals for the next cycle.
2. Team Review Template (Project Manager, Scrum Master)
✅ Delivery metrics (cycle time, velocity).
✅ Collaboration health (feedback from team).
✅ SMART goals progress.
✅ Risks & roadblocks.
3. Project/Program Review Template (Program Manager, Portfolio Manager)
✅ Budget adherence.
✅ Delivery milestones achieved.
✅ Key risks & mitigation.
✅ Dependencies managed effectively.
Final Thoughts: Reviews Should Build, Not Break People
Performance reviews are Not meant to be medieval torture devices. When done right, they motivate, align, and focus teams on what really matters. So, next time you’re about to fill out or get a review, ask yourself:
- Is this review/feedback clear, specific, measurable, time bound and actionable?
- Would I find this review/feedback helpful or just soul-crushing?
- Does it align with team and business goals?
If not, fix it. Because the goal isn’t just to review performance—it’s to improve it.
Try one of these tips this week and tell me what worked (or flopped spectacularly). Either way, let’s embrace remote work—and make it better. Feel free to reach out if you want to find out more tools and techniches 💡