Write Performance Review

---
name: write-performance-review
description: Use when writing or calibrating a performance review for a direct report at any level
source: Kim Scott "Radical Candor" (2017); SBI Feedback Model (Center for Creative Leadership); Adobe Check-in Model
tags: [performance-review, feedback, leadership, sbi-model, talent-management, coaching]
verified: true
---

# Write Performance Review

Write a performance review that is honest, specific, and developmentally useful — not a vague summary or a surprise.

## Why This Is Best Practice

**Adopted by:** Adobe (replaced annual reviews with Check-ins), Microsoft (growth mindset reviews), Center for Creative Leadership SBI model used by 750K+ managers
**Impact:** Adobe eliminated annual reviews in 2012 and saw voluntary turnover drop 30% while performance accountability increased; vague reviews correlate with higher attrition than no reviews

**Why best:** A performance review fails when it is too vague to act on or contains surprises the employee was never given a chance to address. The best reviews summarize feedback already delivered, add calibration context, and set a direction for growth.

## Steps

1. **Gather evidence first** — Pull 1:1 notes, project outcomes, peer feedback, and work artifacts from the entire review period. Do not write from memory alone.
2. **Rate against the role scorecard** — Score each competency against the defined expectations for the level, not against peers. Calibration against peers happens in the calibration meeting, not in your written draft.
3. **Write accomplishments with impact** — For each major contribution, use the format: "Did [action] → resulted in [measurable outcome]." Avoid adjectives without evidence ("great collaborator").
4. **Write development areas using SBI** — Situation, Behavior, Impact. Be specific about what happened, not character traits. "In Q3 planning [S], estimates were regularly off by 50%+ [B], causing sprint commitments to slip 3 times [I]."
5. **Connect to career path** — Name the one or two capabilities that, if developed, would most accelerate the person's next step. Make this concrete: "Presenting to the executive team without prep notes" not "improve communication."
6. **Check for bias** — Re-read the review and ask: Would I write this same feedback for a different demographic? Replace "aggressive" with specific behavior. Replace "cultural fit" with a competency.
7. **Deliver before submitting to HR** — Read the review together in the meeting. Give the direct report time to respond and add their own notes. Never submit and then inform.

## Rules

- No surprises: every piece of feedback in the written review must have been delivered verbally at least once.
- Use specific evidence (dates, outcomes, quotes) for every rating, positive or negative.
- Separate performance from potential — they are different axes and require different interventions.
- Avoid sandwich feedback (positive–negative–positive); it buries the real message.
- The employee's self-review must be read before the manager writes their review.

## Examples

Instead of: "Sarah is a strong communicator who sometimes struggles with prioritization."
Write: "Sarah led the customer advisory board launch [accomplishment → increased NPS 12 points]. In Q2 sprint planning, unclear prioritization caused the billing feature to slip two weeks, affecting the Q2 launch. Development focus: practice saying 'no' to inbound requests with a documented rationale."

## Common Mistakes

- **Recency bias** — Only remembering the last 6 weeks of a 12-month period; fixed by reviewing notes from the entire cycle before writing.
- **Vague positives** — "Always goes above and beyond" gives no signal about what to keep doing and signals the reviewer didn't observe closely.
- **Inflation to avoid conflict** — Rating someone "meets expectations" when they don't helps no one and creates a legal and calibration problem at the next review.

## When NOT to Use

- Do not write a formal performance review for someone in their first 30 days on the job — a structured onboarding check-in is more appropriate when the role expectations have not yet been fully experienced.
- Do not use this process to document an active termination decision; once the decision is final, the review becomes a legal document and HR and legal counsel must lead the process.
- Do not write a written review when the manager has had no direct observational data on the employee's work for the review period — a secondhand review based only on hearsay produces unfair ratings and legal exposure.