| name | write-performance-review |
| description | Use when writing or calibrating a performance review for a direct report at any level |
| source | Kim Scott "Radical Candor" (2017); SBI Feedback Model (Center for Creative Leadership); Adobe Check-in Model |
| tags | ["performance-review","feedback","leadership","sbi-model","talent-management","coaching"] |
| verified | true |
Write Performance Review
Write a performance review that is honest, specific, and developmentally useful — not a vague summary or a surprise.
Why This Is Best Practice
Adopted by: Adobe (replaced annual reviews with Check-ins), Microsoft (growth mindset reviews), Center for Creative Leadership SBI model used by 750K+ managers
Impact: Adobe eliminated annual reviews in 2012 and saw voluntary turnover drop 30% while performance accountability increased; vague reviews correlate with higher attrition than no reviews
Why best: A performance review fails when it is too vague to act on or contains surprises the employee was never given a chance to address. The best reviews summarize feedback already delivered, add calibration context, and set a direction for growth.
Steps
- Gather evidence first — Pull 1:1 notes, project outcomes, peer feedback, and work artifacts from the entire review period. Do not write from memory alone.
- Rate against the role scorecard — Score each competency against the defined expectations for the level, not against peers. Calibration against peers happens in the calibration meeting, not in your written draft.
- Write accomplishments with impact — For each major contribution, use the format: "Did [action] → resulted in [measurable outcome]." Avoid adjectives without evidence ("great collaborator").
- Write development areas using SBI — Situation, Behavior, Impact. Be specific about what happened, not character traits. "In Q3 planning [S], estimates were regularly off by 50%+ [B], causing sprint commitments to slip 3 times [I]."
- Connect to career path — Name the one or two capabilities that, if developed, would most accelerate the person's next step. Make this concrete: "Presenting to the executive team without prep notes" not "improve communication."
- Check for bias — Re-read the review and ask: Would I write this same feedback for a different demographic? Replace "aggressive" with specific behavior. Replace "cultural fit" with a competency.
- Deliver before submitting to HR — Read the review together in the meeting. Give the direct report time to respond and add their own notes. Never submit and then inform.
Rules
- No surprises: every piece of feedback in the written review must have been delivered verbally at least once.
- Use specific evidence (dates, outcomes, quotes) for every rating, positive or negative.
- Separate performance from potential — they are different axes and require different interventions.
- Avoid sandwich feedback (positive–negative–positive); it buries the real message.
- The employee's self-review must be read before the manager writes their review.
Examples
Instead of: "Sarah is a strong communicator who sometimes struggles with prioritization."
Write: "Sarah led the customer advisory board launch [accomplishment → increased NPS 12 points]. In Q2 sprint planning, unclear prioritization caused the billing feature to slip two weeks, affecting the Q2 launch. Development focus: practice saying 'no' to inbound requests with a documented rationale."
Common Mistakes
- Recency bias — Only remembering the last 6 weeks of a 12-month period; fixed by reviewing notes from the entire cycle before writing.
- Vague positives — "Always goes above and beyond" gives no signal about what to keep doing and signals the reviewer didn't observe closely.
- Inflation to avoid conflict — Rating someone "meets expectations" when they don't helps no one and creates a legal and calibration problem at the next review.
When NOT to Use
- Do not write a formal performance review for someone in their first 30 days on the job — a structured onboarding check-in is more appropriate when the role expectations have not yet been fully experienced.
- Do not use this process to document an active termination decision; once the decision is final, the review becomes a legal document and HR and legal counsel must lead the process.
- Do not write a written review when the manager has had no direct observational data on the employee's work for the review period — a secondhand review based only on hearsay produces unfair ratings and legal exposure.
