Mitch Blum

With performance review season nearly upon us, I am reminded of the many reviews that I’ve received over the years.  While some were long, formal affairs with elaborate corporate forms and others were short verbal conversations, I always learned a lot about myself – or at least how others viewed me – through those evaluations.  Performance reviews, while painful to deliver and receive, are quite necessary to the health of an organization and your career.

But the biggest problem that I have with reviews is that they tend to focus on what people need to improve instead of focusing on what they do well.

Obviously there are minimum standards for performance in all areas of the communications industry that need to be achieved.  To a certain extent, training programs can help people learn how to write, how to present and how to execute work.  Mentors can teach youngsters how to carry themselves and how to manage challenging situations. 

But our business is one of strategy and ideas.  It’s about charisma and relationships.  In many ways, the most important skills for a communications professional are inherent skills.  If you practice hitting jump shots every day for years eventually you’re going to be a decent (or at least improved) shooter.  But all of the training programs in the world aren’t going to help you come up with compelling ideas if you don’t have any.  Either your brain is wired that way or it isn’t.

That’s why I like to focus on what people do well.  Our business needs thinkers AND executors.  It needs relationship builders AND deft financial planners.  If you can help people identify what they’re good at – and put them in a position to succeed – then they’ll be happier and more valuable to the organization.

Think positive this review season!