I spent the entire day on the phone yesterday giving performance reviews.
Even those who aren’t required to have one due to contract status.
Overall, I think I gave fair grades. My one staffer even wanted to frame something I wrote. (It was rather hilariously true.)
I’m just glad that my people don’t need to go take a break until their eyes can focus again.
They all hung up knowing their biggest fan is always going to be their boss.
Five stars to me, is all I gotta say, for achieving that.
Like I told one of them, for our customers, you have become the advocate you needed five years ago. I recognize that as someone who had to become my own advocate so I could advocate for my people.
She beamed.
I got to thinking about how I don’t have my mom here to remind me how awesome her baby is.
How she could override even the sharpest, and occasionally even accurate, criticism.
And how lucky I am to STILL have her voice in my head.
And since my people are going to have MY voice in THEIR heads …
I want them to hear the words — and yes, the tough ones too — with the love that I intended.
Even the tough stuff gets received. Another said, “You could bark at me and it would be completely understandable. You don’t. But even if you did, I would be like yeah I get it.”
I think that’s where I am with everything. I know where I fell short. But if the short grade is applied somewhere else, I’m not going to argue.
Like I got an average customer service score. Fine. I can always do better.
But someone reminded me of the customer avatars I drew up — with actual photos from an event — and how she loved that.
Which I forgot about because a louder voice in my head hated it.
So maybe that got me a 3 but someone else would have given me a 4.
And honestly, I’m OK with that.
Now, I warned my people the danger with 4s is they can only go down or stay the same. So, with great marks comes great responsibility.
No one knows better than me, is what I left unsaid, what happens when you go from working 14 hour days to giving what you can, when you can.
And it’s been nice not having that pressure personally for the past two years.
My friend who reminded me “Whose” I am said he thinks I’ve got great things in store this year and he can’t wait to see what I do when I find my passion again.
Same, brother. Same.