Ask the expert: Boss gives mixed message

Q: I just had my appraisal meeting with my boss, and I thought I had had a pretty good year. But I think he spent most of the session telling me all the things I've done wrong for the past 12 months, before saying at the end that overall I was doing pretty okay. I'm still trying to figure out what message I should take from the appraisal; am I doing okay or not, and is there anything that I did right that he might want to talk about? Is this kind of appraisal behaviour good practice? Am I wrong to feel confused and frustrated?

A: It does sound like you need another meeting with your boss. Some people interpret a request for feedback as a request for criticism, even though they are not the same thing. Feedback is about all aspects of performance, not just the negatives.

Performance appraisals, in particular, are opportunities to discuss both what is going well, and areas that need attention. As you suggest, this requires balance.

On the one hand, supervisors need to acknowledge and build on areas that are going well; and research suggests that it is much easier to build up areas of existing strength.

This is balanced by attention to areas that are not going as well, to at least bring them to an acceptable level. The discussion in an appraisal should be balanced discussion, with both of you contributing about equally to a review of the prior year, and planning for the next one.

I also find it a bit of a concern that there was a 12-month recital of problems in the interview. Appraisals should simply summarise discussions you've had throughout the year, not replace them. If there are problems - or causes for praise - they should be discussed and resolved at the time.

In setting up the next discussion with your boss, you might ask for a list of your strengths and weaknesses, with some specific examples of things you've done. If you both draw up such a list, you'll find the areas where you agree and differ, and this can be a basis for a productive discussion.

You might also want to see if you can schedule monthly or quarterly reviews to make sure you are on track with any strengths you want to bolster or problem areas that you decide to address.