I am often asked – especially at this time of year – how do you handle a performance review by your boss?

While there is no shortage of ideas and/or suggestions on what you should and should not do, I have without fail offered the same simple advice; Always Look for Ways to Earn Your Place in the World!

In the following excerpt from my book The Future of You! Creating Your Enduring Brand, I talk about what it truly means to earn your place in the world;

Think back to when you were actively searching for your present job.  Did you research the companies with whom you hoped to work?  While far too many people make the mistake of looking for a job or position as opposed to seeking out the “right fit,” you probably targeted those organizations for which you could provide a needed expertise.

In your efforts to select a company, did you seek to understand the challenges that you could address?  Were you effective in explaining how you could deliver a solution based on your skills and value?  Were you convinced that your expertise and ability could best serve the company’s future vision?   Were you confident that your boss would value your passion, respect your ambition, and become your sponsor for moving up?

The fact that you landed the job speaks to the effectiveness of your efforts.  But this process should not stop once you have been with the same company for many years.

I then went on to write;

One of the key areas upon which this book has focused is on stepping out from behind the scenes and into the shared spotlight of organizational success on the front stage.  Like the camera commercial in which the same individual actively seeks opportunities to be in everyone’s picture, you have to continuously seek ways to stay in the picture relative to your organization’s changing needs.  You have to continually seek ways to find and maintain that perfect fit you originally had with your organization when you were first hired.  You have to see your day-to-day work as earning your place in the world.  You must also demonstrate your passion and enthusiasm daily so that others will feel your excitement.

In this light, consider the following questions:

1.           What difference have you made in the past?  What difference are you making right now?

2.            What key projects are you seeking out today that will result in greater value and importance to your organization’s (or business’s) future?

In the end, a performance review is quite simply an opportunity to demonstrate your value to your boss in terms of helping both he or she, as well as the company, achieve their goals.

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