The Performance Review Jackie and Ross

The Performance Review Jackie and Ross

Jackie, a manager in the auditing department of a bank made much larger by a recent merger, has a review scheduled today with Ross, one of her new reports, and she’s nervous. The bank has firmed up its performance evaluations to make them more specific and fine grained.

Through the grapevine, Jackie has heard that Ross is known to be ambitious and quick to challenge any feedback that doesn’t serve his professional forward motion. She has also heard that Ross’ auditing skills are more advanced than his interpersonal skills. Apparently Ross has a superior manner that alienates people in the departments he audits. Because audits are admittedly a little hard to take, managers chafe when they think he condescends to them while criticizing their procedures. This is a bit hazy—Jackie hasn’t heard this from an offended person directly, but word has gotten around to her.

Apparently no one has ever said anything to Ross directly about an “attitude problem” because he’s defensive about criticism. In fact, the managers at Ross’ old independent bank avoided confronting Ross with his weaknesses—they’re auditors, not personal-style critics.

In contrast to Ross, but like his former managers, Jackie herself is non-confrontational—she was drawn to auditing because it’s quiet and she could spend most of her time with numbers. But she takes the grooming of younger colleagues seriously. If Ross wants to progress, he needs to take a more tactful approach with managers who resist his auditing conclusions.

It’s important to her to be fair and she wants this to be a constructive review. She’s looked over his previous reviews but, with the new evaluation format and the feedback she’s gotten from the department’s clients, together with her own assessment of Ross’ work, Jackie will not give him the same number of “exceeds expectations” that he has received in the past. Nevertheless, Ross will see a good salary increase, proportionally more than Jackie got when she was at his stage.

“Ross, your auditing skills are stellar and I’m impressed,” Jackie began. “This is our first review, but you have a good track record. I can see how well your previous managers thought of you.”

“Thanks, Jackie,” Ross replied. “I’m pretty pleased myself.” Off Ross went in that direction, filling Jackie in on his successes. Jackie listened, nodding, smiling, and agreeing.

“But there is one other thing I’d like to mention,” Jackie tried. Still Ross continued with his opinion of the high quality of his work. On that tack, Jackie wasn’t making progress on the attitude problem at all. She had no choice but to drop the niceness and hit the point head on. “I’ve heard,” she said, “that some department managers are unhappy with the way you come across when you’re making your recommendations. They think you’re

The Performance Review Jackie and Ross

kind of cocky and superior. You need to work on your interpersonal skills. That’s going to be one of my ‘going forward’ recommendations in this evaluation.”

Ross gave Jackie a look she couldn’t read—was it veiled hostility? He denied any difficulty. Then he pushed back, “You review me, but you don’t see me day to day. In fact, I don’t think you know anything firsthand about my work.” He twisted the conversation around to attack Jackie—he even questioned her competence. “You have a lot more new reports since the merger, not just me. Are you feeling a little overwhelmed, Jackie? In over your head?”

Jackie was taken aback by the confrontation, and thoroughly stumped by Ross’ twists. She lost track of what she was trying to say as she reacted to Ross, defending herself. Then she tried to regroup and decided to meet Ross half-way. “We’re getting off track. Let’s see what recommendations I can make that work for both of us.” But this played right into the approach Ross used in business school, and he conceded nothing to her. To his eyes, it looked like Jackie was beginning to back down, and if he pushed her even harder, she would accommodate him even more.

But Jackie had had enough. This was no longer a disagreement about box scores on an evaluation; Ross was undermining her authority. She took the gloves off. “I need to tell you frankly that it’s unacceptable that managers think you try to bully them in their own departments. And this very conversation is giving me the evidence I need. I’m disappointed in you.”

“Bully people?” Ross shot back. “The way you’re doing now? You’re doing to me exactly what you accuse me of, and at greater cost because you can hurt my career.”

Jackie and Ross were at impasse. Ross said he wasn’t satisfied with the review and he would take it up elsewhere. He left. Afterward, Jackie told her own managing partner everything. The partner commiserated with her and told her, “This happens, Jackie. There’s not much you can do. Just give him a vanilla review. We have a grapevine that communicates anything people really need to know about his performance.” That same grapevine, of course, carries messages about Jackie and the trouble she has managing up-and-coming auditors.