If you want to evaluate managers performance, first understand what an effective manager looks like. Some habits that are common among top-performing managers include being consistent in terms of deadlines and expectations for work, communicating well and on time, creating good working relationships, and regularly engaging employees. Your manager must be responsive, accessible, listen and honest about not only positive feedback but also negative ones.
What is the point of evaluating managers performance?
Evaluating the performance of a manager is just one way to provide feedback to that employee. It provides managers with an opportunity to learn from their shortcomings.
Evaluating a managers performance assists in understanding their strengths and weaknesses and can be used as the basis for future expectations, reviews, or promotions.
It also provides employees who work closely with the manager with an opportunity to identify what is working well and where improvements may be needed for the benefit of everyone involved.
So here is how to evaluate managers performance:
1. Be well-prepared
Before sitting down with your manager, do some thinking about what you want to bring up in the review meeting. You can send your manager an email with a list of points you need to cover.
If you are going to discuss areas of weakness, for example, make sure your manager knows this beforehand, so they have time to prepare and approach the subject with confidence at the review meeting.
By doing that, it may create an opportunity to discuss issues without worrying about anything later on.
2. Humble yourself first
Start by being humble. Explain why evaluating your manager’s performance is critical to yourself, co-workers, and the organization.
The purpose of evaluation should be primarily focusing on development areas where there might need improvements.
3. Discuss your manager’s strong areas
Discuss your manager’s performance, and first on the list are a few of their strengths and any qualities you admire. This may include exceptional leadership.
Talk more about how your manager’s strength is translating into better teamwork and better outcomes. Give an example of when your manager helped you, the team, or a project to succeed.
Related article: 10 Questions for Employees to Evaluate Managers
4. Discuss the weaker areas
Then if applicable, discuss the areas that your manager can improve on. This will help outline the type of standards to hold your manager accountable to.
Talk about how their weak points are affecting your work or others on a team. Give an example when you, the team, or the project failed, relating to their weakness.
5. Let your manager respond to your feedback
Ask your manager whether your assessment of their strengths and weaknesses is fair. You aim to get them to acknowledge their weakness which forces them to reflect on their actions.
Listen carefully and don’t be critical of their response if they disdain your negative part of the feedback. Try not to force your manager to accept things they disagree with you.
6. Re-emphasize your manager’s strengths
Re-emphasize your manager’s strengths to personalize the performance review process and increase their self-esteem.
But also address any weaknesses they have as this will give them a chance to make improvements.
It is not easy for someone to discuss the shortcomings of another person who is your boss. So, it may help calm your nerves to ask how seriously they think about your negative feedback.
Manager performance can be affected positively or negatively by the attitude of the manager towards subordinates.
Read also: 10 Great Ideas for Conducting a Positive Performance Review
7. Offer suggestions
Offer some suggestions you think your manager can implement to address their shortcomings.
Most times managers tend to be overly critical of their team members when addressing work-related issues like missing deadlines or failures at achieving goals, suggest some actionable steps that can help them improve.
8. Don’t try to embarrass your manager
Be careful in discussing weaknesses that you know will cause embarrassment for your boss.
A manager performance evaluation is not about hurting your manager’s feelings or an opportunity for retribution.
It’s about helping them to help and achieve success through improvement. In reality, some managers have trouble accepting a performance review from their team members.
They might be uncomfortable if they have to discuss their strengths and their weaknesses, especially with someone who reports directly to them.
9. Don’t take things personally
In manager performance review meetings, you may often hear the phrases “I agree with this criticism, but I don’t feel it applies to me,” or “Yes, I do need to focus on that aspect of my job.”
Managers can be confident in their achievements while trying hard not to pay attention to employees’ criticisms. The key is not taking anything personally when probably some of your criticism is based on opinions.
10. Stay focused on your manager’s performance
Stay focused on your manager. The meeting is for discussing your manager’s performance only, not yours. It’s easy to get overconfident and let the conversation begin wandering.
Even more common is to indulge in the easy opportunity of putting your manager under pressure. Don’t do it! Remember, in the meeting, that you are not the boss, so keep any criticisms constructive.
Read also: 8 Examples of What to Tell Your Manager to Improve On
11. Illustrate what improvements should be made
Say which areas you think your manager is falling short of. Concentrate on specific issues like their approach with people and their work ethic. All these can form part of a manager development action plan.
The manager can then concentrate on improving these areas by themselves or with help from others within the department or company if required.
12. Point out areas your manager is not doing enough
Point out specific instances where your manager could have helped you improve your performance as an employee.
Also, suggest ways they can help other employees who are also underperforming.
Say specific instances where it looks like your manager has been avoiding delegating tasks for afraid of failure. Suggest ways they can delegate tasks.
13. Ask your manager if they can show you the ropes
Managers need to guide the team in the right direction and help you develop your critical thinking skills by providing new challenges instead of just asking people to follow the same orders all the time.
If your manager is not doing this, ask why and what you can do to be more valuable to the team.
Conclusion
The best way to judge how good a manager is and how well their people do their jobs is by looking at the results.
Evaluating a manager’s performance is a good reminder that they have to demonstrate their ability, be receptive to feedback, and improve or modify their actions to become better managers.
It also creates more transparency where employees can see that hard work pays off and sets up others for future promotions.
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