Comments on: Thoughts on Performance Reviews and Positive Psychology

By: the pyschology behind performance appraisals

the pyschology behind performance appraisals — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:12:16 +0000

[…] process behind … What if the process of performance appraisals were along the lines of …http://pos-psych.com/news/doug-turner/20070716342The Sydney Morning Herald Blogs: All Men Are LiarsActually sports pyschology is much kinder than […]

By: psychology » Blog Archive » I’m such a good mum

psychology » Blog Archive » I’m such a good mum — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:27:54 +0000

[…] I think positive psychology holds at least some of the keys to turn this well intended process from something to dread with negative results to an opportunity to help employees find more fulfillment and meaning in their work. … …more […]

By: John Yeager

John Yeager — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 18:18:02 +0000

Doug: Your article was inspiring, as I am very interested in addressing a new way of looking at performance reviews with the faculty and administration at my school.

Thanks for the motivation.

John Y.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:38:29 +0000

Doug, This is an excellent article and a concept that needs to be shared beyond the realm of positive psychology professionals. It needs to be communicated to the corporat world. It could make a tremendous difference in a company’s morale and create a work environment where people thrive rather than just survive! Good insights.

By: Doug Turner

Doug Turner — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:38:07 +0000

Thanks to all for your thoughts and comments. Anyone who has ever worked in a corporate setting and experienced a performance review can relate to the thoughts you are sharing. What we are talking about here is very “counter cultural” in corporate America - but so needed. Keep thinking and sharing your “what if’s.” I found a nice book on related to this subject: “Positive Performance Improvement, A New Paradigm for Optimizing Your Workforce” by Richard F. and Robbie G. Gerson. They discuss Positive Psychology and reference Dr. Seligman.
All the Best, Doug

By: Lola Rokni

Lola Rokni — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 13:25:58 +0000

Doug,
Great discussion and thought teaser!
Some structural What ifs:
What if we could disconnect the “rating” and “performance review” from the “plans for the future”? rating, relative to others and the past is a totally different thing than energizing a person, which should be relative to herself and future oriented. Connecting the two different frames creates an ambiguity, which makes these performance reviews ineffective: you cannot energize and rate simultaneously.
What if a manager’s “rating” was partly defined by her subordinates as to how energizing she is to them? Than managers understand that their ‘job’ is to energize and not just rate.

Lola.

By: psychology » Blog Archive » Folk Futurist: Jonathan Coulton

psychology » Blog Archive » Folk Futurist: Jonathan Coulton — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 12:21:09 +0000

By: Theresa Smith

Theresa Smith — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 22:44:47 +0000

Doug,

I’m a new subscriber to Positive Psychology news and so this is the first article of yours that I’ve read. All I can say is YES! RIGHT ON!

I spent many years as the management/OD consultant who trained managers in how to deal with the negatives until I got the message and began to use just what you’ve described. It was not well received by my senior management but I pursued it and finally got some managers to reframe their thinking.

I’m out of the corporate world now, a business and life coach who always deals with my clients’ strengths.

Thank you for a wonderful article.

Theresa Smith

By: Mimi

Mimi — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 21:05:51 +0000

Doug,

This is great!…in briefly speaking with Prof Gretchen Spreitzer from U Mich Positive Organizational Scholarship program she mentioned that perhaps the Reflected Best Self exercise http://www.bus.umich.edu/Positive/POS-Teaching-and-Learning/POS-Tools.htm might be the appropriate solution to the performance review problem that you’re discussing. Sounds like a great idea to me, do you think that with some personalization to your corporations that might be a feasible idea?

By: Senia

Senia — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 17:53:22 +0000

Doug,

I especially like your question and Kathryn’s follow-up… what if employees looked forward to performance review time?

I know a woman who just had a performance review in which her boss’ first question was “How happy are you at work?” And she answered by saying all the things that were working, and then commented on the ones that weren’t working. That’s very employee-centered. Very committed to the employee’s learning and growth. That’s laudable!

“What if”s seem like a really nice place to start - we can imagine them. We can see what these “what if”s could bring in practice. Thanks, Doug.