Community member event: On January 25, Ethan will do a live career talk and Q&A on the topic “How Being Unreasonable Drove Me to Amazon VP”.
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For existing members, click this link to see registration details.
A reader got a poor review, was pushed down in the org, and wants answers:
"I started the team from scratch in 2022 and by the end of the year, we delivered on all the goals and in fact was applauded by the VP and senior management. However, this wasn't reflected in my annual appraisal (Meets Expectation rating) and I was in fact put under a senior colleague (same level) stating that he is due for promotion and needs bigger scope. This now most likely stunts my growth in the org. I want to confront my manager, but am a little unsure given the macro environment. How should I handle this situation as this is now impacting my motivation to work in this team?"
The only way to get these answers is to ask in a non-threatening way that has the best odds of drawing out the truth.
5 rules for hard conversations:
Get your emotions under control. Humans read emotions quickly and subconsciously. They will respond and guard against your emotions if you are having them. You cannot conceal emotions, so deal with them internally first.
Ask at a good time. Do not corner the manager. Ask for a meeting during a non-crisis time.
Do not ambush. Tell them that you would like more information on your review and/or your career path before the meeting. Knowing the topic reduces their anxiety, increasing your chance of candor.