Education 2.0 & 3.0

Does gender play a role in the type of feedback an employee receives at review time? We had a linguist crunch the numbers.

Not long ago I was talking to an engineering manager who was preparing performance reviews for his team. He had two people he wanted to promote that year, but he was worried that his peers were only going to endorse one of them. “Jessica is really talented,” he said. “But I wish she’d be less abrasive. She comes on too strong.” Her male counterpart? “Steve is an easy case,” he went on. “Smart and great to work with. He needs to learn to be a little more patient, but who doesn’t?”

I don’t know whether Jessica got her promotion, but the exchange got me wondering how often this perception of female abrasiveness undermines women’s careers in technology.

Is it already time for the semi-annual conversation with each of your direct reports?

This may seem more painful than your semi-annual dental cleaning, but regardless, you are now expected to bring each of your stellar and not-so-stellar team members into your office and fill a 45-minute block on your calendar with topics of mutual interest in the realm of professional development.

An effective discussion on performance development follows a repeatable formula, much like one adopted by Steven Spielberg in his pursuit for theatrical excellence--an honorable protagonist, the struggle to overcome human fallibility, a cast of supporting characters, and the possibility of a sequel that may very well surpass expectations. Click to see  the formula you can follow for your next feedback cycle.