For many people - on either side of the process - appraisals or performance reviews can be an uncomfortable experience. Their rather jaundiced reputation is partly due to how appraisals in many organisations have been administered historically, with inappropriate bureaucracy and systems on the one hand and inadequate training and 'soft skills' on the other.

Yet the quality of a performance related conversation between a manager and team member can have a profound impact, both for the individual and for the organisation.

So what can help to make this a positive and productive experience?

Remember it's about the whole person

An appraisal is an opportunity for you to stand back and consider performance and development from a much more holistic perspective than day to day activity often allows. This might be structured around the successive levels of behaviours (what you do), competences (what skills you use to do it), values and beliefs (what's important to you in doing it), and how this all fits with with your sense of identity and motivation (what's your ultimate purpose and meaning in doing it).

If you're having to address specific performance issues, then careful consideration of these levels can be very useful to identify where any incongruence or misalignment might lie, thus pointing to where an appropriate development intervention would be most appropriate and effective for the individual.

Link feedback and coaching to performance development

Remember that performance development is a process, not an event. Good performance comes from regular attention rather than an annual blitz. So the appraisal needs to be part of an ongoing cycle of interaction.

As management author Terry Gillen observes, effective learning and performance improvement entail four key components, which are cyclical and can be strongly enhanced by coaching. These are:

1. Clarifying and committing to the intention or outcome
2. Taking specific action towards the desired outcome
3. Gaining feedback - intrinsic feedback (which comes from the task itself and usually relates to what has been achieved) and extrinsic feedback (which comes from an external source and usually concerns how the person has done what they've done) Good quality and specific feedback directly improves performance by creating clarity and focus.
4. Reflecting on what has happened and taking on board the feedback that's been given is a big element in learning.

Coaching is a powerful tool in all of these stages, enabling people to set meaningful and well-formed intentions; identify and prioritise actions; enabling useful and meaningful feedback and generating insights through reflective practice.

Build confidence

Appraisals are a great opportunity to give people insight into what they do well. Often this can be a blind spot as people tend to take for granted the things they are best at. Focusing on strengths also builds confidence and awakens people to their true potential through asking questions such as:

1. "What's gone really well this year?"
2. "What have you enjoyed doing most of all?"
3. "What have been the best moments?"
4. "What have you found most satisfying?"
5. "What things have you picked up quickest?"
6. "What would you like to spend more time on?"
7. "Where do you think your strengths lie?"

Poorly run appraisals can cause demotivation and even resentment. Equally, a well conducted appraisal can be the spark that ignites enthusiasm for what is possible, creating a new level of achievement and success for the individual and the organisation.

Your past is not your potential.

"In any hour you can choose to liberate the future."