I’m sure we’ve all had the experience of having a colleague who we can say, doesn’t quite measure up. Perhaps they’re always late, or unreliable, or inconsistent in their work habits.
Perhaps their work isn’t up to par. I’m sure we can tell stories about that colleague. I’m sure we have.
But this blog entry isn’t about that colleague whose work ethic is lacking. It’s about a good friend of mine and his work ethic which usually exceeds expectations.
In a previous blog entry, I mentioned good friend’s experience in the military with his supervisor, Sergeant M, and how he didn’t want my friend to help out another office with his (military-gained) experience.
Well, here’s another story where Sergeant M’s own virtues could be called into question. For some background, check out the blog entry titled, “We’re All On the Same Side”.
Any job my good friend does is a reflection of his personal excellence and his military job was no different. He learned the job and did it to the best of his ability.
The previous occupant of his job however, did not practice the excellence that he holds himself to, so his first year on the job was spent correcting the many mistakes that he found managing the base’s technical publications library.
It turns out that the job really wasn’t that difficult, although it was tedious at times. But my good friend persevered. Not only did he correct the mistakes he found, he also updated the base’s technical library procedural document, and created a library management handbook, copies of which were requested by other military library managers. They even called him personally to ask for guidance.
The purpose of this blog entry however, isn’t to extol my good friend’s work ethic or achievements, but to relate what happened during his performance review.
After one year on the job, my good friend sat down with his supervisor, Sergeant M, for his performance review.
Sergeant M began with the review, “You have exceeded expectations. You have performed this job better than anyone else who has ever held this position.”
Sergeant M than gave my good friend his performance review paperwork to sign. The boxes checked all read, “Satisfactory.” Above the “Satisfactory” box were two more boxes: “Excellent” and “Exceeds Expectations”.
My good friend asked his supervisor, Sergeant M, if his performance exceeded expectations, why didn’t Sergeant M check the boxes which read, “Exceeds Expectations”.
Sergeant M answered, “Because no one gets “Exceeds Expectations” on their first performance review. He added that HR would kick back the performance review, because as he said, no one gets “Exceeds Expectations” on their first performance review.
In other words, my good friend’s supervisor did not have the backbone to stand up for the performance review that he signed or the subordinate who earned “Exceeds Expectations” on his performance review.
My good friend did not believe his supervisor’s explanation. He knew that performance reviews were based on standard evaluation criteria and signed by a direct supervisor. HR’s job is to process the performance review and not to tell a supervisor that an employee who exceeds expectations cannot receive a performance review that exceeds expectations.
As we would expect, my good friend was disappointed. He had worked hard, not to please anyone, but because that’s what he does. But only receiving a satisfactory review was personally insulting, especially because his supervisor had already acknowledged that his work was more than satisfactory.
Nothing kills an employee’s enthusiasm for the job when they feel personally insulted by lack of recognition for their work ethic. And supervisors are personally responsible for that.
Supervisors: if you are going to sit in the big chair, you have to make big decisions. Standing up for your employees often involves making big decisions. Recognizing employees for the value they bring also goes with sitting in the big chair.
