April 15, 2025 • 14 mins
How to Deliver Employee Reviews That Don’t Suck (And Actually Grow Your People) Part 2
Too many employee reviews feel like an ambush.
But when leaders approach reviews as the culmination of a year’s worth of growth—not a once-a-year evaluation—everything changes.
In this episode of Things Leaders Do, Colby Morris walks you through how to conduct employee reviews that build trust, reinforce clarity, and inspire performance. This is Part 2 of our series on Employee Development and Annual Reviews, and we’re focused on the delivery—how to lead the actual conversation with confidence and care.
You'll learn:
- How to make monthly 1:1s the foundation of your review process
- Why great reviews are never a surprise—and what to do if they are
- When and how to schedule reviews to reduce anxiety and build consistency
- How to reframe the review as a story, not just a score
- A simple, objective framework to evaluate SMART goals using real data
Whether the year was full of wins, setbacks, or something in between, this episode will help you turn your review process into a people-first leadership tool—not a performance trap.
Want more leadership insights or training for your team?
Colby Morris provides keynotes, leadership coaching, and custom workshops to help organizations build strong, people-first cultures.
Connect with Colby:
- LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/colbymorris/) and join the ongoing conversation about what real leadership looks like today.
Subscribe, share, and start leading reviews that grow people—not blindside them.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Things Leaders Do, the podcast that
uncovers the secrets of becomingan extraordinary leader.
If you're a leader who'sconstantly seeking growth,
inspiration and tangible ways tolevel up your leadership, then
you've come to the right place.
Remember, the world needsexceptional leaders, and that
leader is you.
Now here's your host, colbyMorris, is you.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Now here's your host, Colby Morris.
What's worse than a bademployee review?
An employee review thatblindsides someone, the kind
where their face drops halfwaythrough and they say wait, this
(00:46):
is the first time I'm hearingabout this.
Yikes.
That's the kind of leadershipmoment that can break trust in
five minutes, one conversationthat undoes an entire year's
worth of effort.
But it doesn't have to be thatway.
Hey leaders, welcome to the TLDpodcast.
I'm Colby Morris and I've ledfrom every seat at the table
front line manager, middlemanager and executive.
(01:08):
I've made mistakes, I'velearned the hard way and I've
built systems at work.
I'm here to help you become abetter leader faster and to do
that with actionable tools youcan use today, not someday.
This is part two of our serieson employee development and
(01:31):
annual reviews.
In part one, we covered how tobuild intentional reviews using
smart goals and quarterly slash,monthly milestones okay, tied
to your employees' aspirations,milestones tied to your
employees' aspirations.
Today I want to cover theactual delivery, the
(01:55):
conversation itself, the momentof truth.
A few things we'll talk abouthow your one-on-one set the
stage for the review, whyreviews should never be a
surprise, when and how toschedule them for maximum impact
.
And what tone to use when youwalk into the room and how to
use objective, smart, goal-basedmeasurements to take the
(02:17):
guesswork and drama out of theprocess.
Let's get to it First.
This starts with your monthlyone-on-ones.
If you're doing reviews right,the annual conversation should
feel like a summary, not asudden evaluation.
Okay, but here's the trap I seetoo many leaders fall into.
(02:42):
I see too many leaders fallinto.
They think of the review as themoment.
Okay, the truth is, the momentalready happened.
Okay, that's in yourone-on-ones.
That's where growth lives,that's where coaching happens,
that's where course correctionsare made.
So if your one-on-ones arecurrently only about tasks,
(03:05):
updates, putting out fires,you're missing it, because
without consistent monthlycheck-in on goals development,
your review turns into aguessing game, literally for
both of you.
Here's how I frame it.
This review is not a one-timejudgment.
(03:26):
It's the summary of 12 monthsof work that we've already
talked through, bit by month andmonth by month.
If you're leading well, yourone-on-ones are the chapters of
the story.
Okay, the review is just thefinal page, and let me say this
(03:47):
plainly Okay, Because it matters.
If an employee is surprised byanything in their review, that's
on you, all right.
Number two why review shouldnever be a surprise.
I want to dig into this becauseit's one of the most important
truths in people-firstleadership.
(04:09):
No one should ever walk into areview guessing how they're
doing.
And if they do, that means youhaven't communicated clearly or
consistently enough as a leader,and those are big parts of your
job.
Now, this doesn't mean everyreview is glowing.
Some reviews will include hardfeedback.
(04:32):
Maybe they missed the mark on aproject, maybe they didn't hit
their goals, maybe behavior orcultural fit was an issue.
But here's the thing Listen, ifyou've been having honest
conversations throughout theyear, then that employee already
knows the situation.
(04:52):
They may not love hearing itagain, but they're not shocked.
And that makes all thedifference.
Because when the reviewconfirms what they already know,
you shift from confrontation toreflection.
Instead of wait what I didn'tknow, this was a problem.
You get something like yeah,we've talked about that in our
(05:15):
check-ins, I've been trying toget better and I know I still
have work to do.
That's the posture you want.
Not defensiveness, not arguing,not scrambling to defend
themselves, just clarity, justaccountability, just forward
momentum.
(05:36):
That's what builds trust, evenin the tough conversations,
because the real power ofleadership isn't in avoiding
hard truths, it's in making themsafe enough to talk about early
, often and with your support,all right.
(05:56):
Number three, I want you to setthe stage early and
intentionally.
Timing matters, and so doesyour tone.
Don't make reviews feel likedisciplinary meetings, like
you're going to the principal'soffice and, for the love of your
team, don't schedule it out ofnowhere Like, hey, can you hop
(06:16):
on a Zoom for 30 minutestomorrow?
I want to go over your yearwhat?
Set the stage with intention,at least two to four weeks in
advance.
Better yet, tie it into yourregular one-on-one cadence.
Let's say, your one-on-oneshappen on the first Thursday of
each month.
Then here's how you frame it.
(06:38):
Hey, let's use our Decemberone-on-one for your annual
review on the first Thursday ofeach month.
Then here's how you frame it.
Hey, let's use our Decemberone-on-one for your annual
review.
Well, add a little extra timeso we can talk about the year as
a whole, what went well, whatdidn't, where we go from here.
That one sentence does a fewpowerful things.
One it signals safety.
There's no surprise attackcoming.
(06:58):
It affirms that you see thework they've been doing all year
.
And it frames the review aspart of a process.
It's not a performance trap.
You want your team to walk intothe review prepared, not
paranoid.
When that happens, theconversation is grounded, not
(07:21):
guarded, and that makes thereview productive and not
procedural.
All right.
Number four I want you toreframe the review as a story,
not really a scorecard.
Okay, this part is where youseparate the managers from the
(07:43):
leaders, Because, yes, thereview contains ratings,
outcomes, metrics, but that'snot the most important part.
The most important part is howyou frame the narrative.
Narrative, your employee didn'tjust hit or miss a number.
They lived a story this year,and when you can reflect that
(08:04):
story back to them with clarityand honesty, it does more than
just inform.
That inspires.
Was this a year of resilience?
Was it a breakthrough yearafter a rocky start, a year of
steady wins, deepened leadership?
You're not just reading numbersfrom a forum, you're naming
(08:28):
their season Something like youknow, you started this year
struggling with time managementand you missed your Q1 deadlines
, but it looks like by mid-year,man, you found your rhythm and
in Q3 and Q4, you're one of themost consistent people on the
team.
That's the growth I want tocelebrate today.
(08:48):
Or, hey, we had high hopes withyour stretch goals this year
and while we didn't quite hitthem, I saw consistent effort,
willingness to adapt.
You were coachable, you didn'tmake excuses, and that tells me
a lot more than the numbers evercould.
Your job as a leader is to holdup the mirror in a way that
(09:14):
reflects truth but also showswho they're becoming.
Don't miss this moment.
It's not about what they did.
It's about what they learned,how they grew and who they're
becoming.
All right, number five I wantyou to use measurement in order
(09:38):
to keep it fair.
Okay, this part is simple, butit is powerful.
See, when you tie yourevaluations to SMART goals, the
ones that were agreed upon earlyin their year, you remove
subjectivity.
You shift the conversation fromopinion to outcomes.
Here's the measurementframework.
(09:59):
I use three basic measurementsOkay, first one is exceeds
expectations.
That means they went above thetarget.
The second one is meetsexpectations.
They hit the goal as we defined.
And then there's did not meetexpectations, which means they
(10:21):
fell short of the goal.
I want to go back to that salesgoal.
In part one, we said where youwanted to close 34 deals by the
end of the year.
Here's how I'd break it down Ifthe goal was 34 deals and you
wanted to say, okay, exceeds,and we're going to set a
(10:41):
measurement for that.
That means you close 35 or more.
Remember the goal was 34, soexceeds is above the goal and
then meets.
In this case, again, with thegoal being 34, I'm going to say
you close 32 to 34.
Okay, I can make that anacceptable range.
(11:01):
If you're a little tougher thanthat, you can say, hey, 34 is
the goal.
You either meet it or youdidn't.
But in this case I said 32 to34.
And then anything below thatnumber.
So 32, 34, that means 31 orfewer.
That did not meet expectations.
Okay, and here's how I'd say it.
(11:23):
It kind of both ends here.
You know you finish with 36closed deals.
That's two over target.
Man, that's a strong finish.
But what impressed me more washow you responded during that
slow patch in Q3.
You didn't wait around, youshifted your approach and you
still delivered.
That's one of the reasons I'mmarking this as exceeds
(11:46):
expectations.
Or let's go to the flip sidehey look, you finished with 30
deals.
That's under our 34 deal goal.
We've been talking about thisthroughout the entire year, so
this isn't a surprise.
But we need to find a way toturn effort into execution more
consistently next year.
(12:06):
I know you have it in you, okay, and I'm here to help.
When it's measured well anddelivered with respect, even
hard feedback becomes a momentof trust.
Look, if you've listened tothis point, I want to challenge
you to do more than just nodalong.
Here's your move this week.
(12:27):
I want you to pull up yourteam's development plans.
I want you to schedule annualreviews two to four weeks in
advance.
Okay, start gathering notes fromyour one-on-ones your
employees' progress, theirchallenges, their wins, where
you had to pivot.
Frame each review not just as areport, but as a reflection, a
(12:52):
story, a mirror and, mostimportantly, prepare the
conversation with them in mind,not just what you need to say,
but what they need to hear,because your job isn't just to
evaluate performance.
Your job is to elevate people.
Do you hear me?
(13:14):
Your job is to elevate people.
Did you hear me?
Your job is to elevate people.
So make this review season onethat builds trust, reinforces
clarity and sets your team upfor an even better year ahead.
If you haven't listened to partone of the series, go hit that
one next.
(13:34):
Okay, it's the foundation ofeverything we covered here, and
it will help you build smartgoals that actually mean
something.
Okay, and if today's episodehelped, here's what I'd love for
you to do Subscribe to thepodcast so you don't miss what's
next.
I would love for you to sharethis episode with another leader
who has reviews on their plate.
Okay, and then connect with meon LinkedIn.
(13:56):
That link is in the show notes,but I love hearing from leaders
just like you, and if yourcompany needs help developing
managers, improving culture orbuilding systems that drive real
performance, I do.
Keynotes, workshops andcoachings that make a difference
, and I'd love to talk.
So until next time, don't justevaluate, elevate, and you know
(14:21):
why?
Because those are the thingsthat leaders do.
Welcome to Things Leaders Do, the podcast that
uncovers the secrets of becomingan extraordinary leader.
If you're a leader who'sconstantly seeking growth,
inspiration and tangible ways tolevel up your leadership, then
you've come to the right place.
Remember, the world needsexceptional leaders, and that
leader is you.
Now here's your host, colbyMorris, is you.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Now here's your host, Colby Morris.
What's worse than a bademployee review?
An employee review thatblindsides someone, the kind
where their face drops halfwaythrough and they say wait, this
(00:46):
is the first time I'm hearingabout this.
Yikes.
That's the kind of leadershipmoment that can break trust in
five minutes, one conversationthat undoes an entire year's
worth of effort.
But it doesn't have to be thatway.
Hey leaders, welcome to the TLDpodcast.
I'm Colby Morris and I've ledfrom every seat at the table
front line manager, middlemanager and executive.
(01:08):
I've made mistakes, I'velearned the hard way and I've
built systems at work.
I'm here to help you become abetter leader faster and to do
that with actionable tools youcan use today, not someday.
This is part two of our serieson employee development and
(01:31):
annual reviews.
In part one, we covered how tobuild intentional reviews using
smart goals and quarterly slash,monthly milestones okay, tied
to your employees' aspirations,milestones tied to your
employees' aspirations.
Today I want to cover theactual delivery, the
(01:55):
conversation itself, the momentof truth.
A few things we'll talk abouthow your one-on-one set the
stage for the review, whyreviews should never be a
surprise, when and how toschedule them for maximum impact
.
And what tone to use when youwalk into the room and how to
use objective, smart, goal-basedmeasurements to take the
(02:17):
guesswork and drama out of theprocess.
Let's get to it First.
This starts with your monthlyone-on-ones.
If you're doing reviews right,the annual conversation should
feel like a summary, not asudden evaluation.
Okay, but here's the trap I seetoo many leaders fall into.
(02:42):
I see too many leaders fallinto.
They think of the review as themoment.
Okay, the truth is, the momentalready happened.
Okay, that's in yourone-on-ones.
That's where growth lives,that's where coaching happens,
that's where course correctionsare made.
So if your one-on-ones arecurrently only about tasks,
(03:05):
updates, putting out fires,you're missing it, because
without consistent monthlycheck-in on goals development,
your review turns into aguessing game, literally for
both of you.
Here's how I frame it.
This review is not a one-timejudgment.
(03:26):
It's the summary of 12 monthsof work that we've already
talked through, bit by month andmonth by month.
If you're leading well, yourone-on-ones are the chapters of
the story.
Okay, the review is just thefinal page, and let me say this
(03:47):
plainly Okay, Because it matters.
If an employee is surprised byanything in their review, that's
on you, all right.
Number two why review shouldnever be a surprise.
I want to dig into this becauseit's one of the most important
truths in people-firstleadership.
(04:09):
No one should ever walk into areview guessing how they're
doing.
And if they do, that means youhaven't communicated clearly or
consistently enough as a leader,and those are big parts of your
job.
Now, this doesn't mean everyreview is glowing.
Some reviews will include hardfeedback.
(04:32):
Maybe they missed the mark on aproject, maybe they didn't hit
their goals, maybe behavior orcultural fit was an issue.
But here's the thing Listen, ifyou've been having honest
conversations throughout theyear, then that employee already
knows the situation.
(04:52):
They may not love hearing itagain, but they're not shocked.
And that makes all thedifference.
Because when the reviewconfirms what they already know,
you shift from confrontation toreflection.
Instead of wait what I didn'tknow, this was a problem.
You get something like yeah,we've talked about that in our
(05:15):
check-ins, I've been trying toget better and I know I still
have work to do.
That's the posture you want.
Not defensiveness, not arguing,not scrambling to defend
themselves, just clarity, justaccountability, just forward
momentum.
(05:36):
That's what builds trust, evenin the tough conversations,
because the real power ofleadership isn't in avoiding
hard truths, it's in making themsafe enough to talk about early
, often and with your support,all right.
(05:56):
Number three, I want you to setthe stage early and
intentionally.
Timing matters, and so doesyour tone.
Don't make reviews feel likedisciplinary meetings, like
you're going to the principal'soffice and, for the love of your
team, don't schedule it out ofnowhere Like, hey, can you hop
(06:16):
on a Zoom for 30 minutestomorrow?
I want to go over your yearwhat?
Set the stage with intention,at least two to four weeks in
advance.
Better yet, tie it into yourregular one-on-one cadence.
Let's say, your one-on-oneshappen on the first Thursday of
each month.
Then here's how you frame it.
(06:38):
Hey, let's use our Decemberone-on-one for your annual
review on the first Thursday ofeach month.
Then here's how you frame it.
Hey, let's use our Decemberone-on-one for your annual
review.
Well, add a little extra timeso we can talk about the year as
a whole, what went well, whatdidn't, where we go from here.
That one sentence does a fewpowerful things.
One it signals safety.
There's no surprise attackcoming.
(06:58):
It affirms that you see thework they've been doing all year
.
And it frames the review aspart of a process.
It's not a performance trap.
You want your team to walk intothe review prepared, not
paranoid.
When that happens, theconversation is grounded, not
(07:21):
guarded, and that makes thereview productive and not
procedural.
All right.
Number four I want you toreframe the review as a story,
not really a scorecard.
Okay, this part is where youseparate the managers from the
(07:43):
leaders, Because, yes, thereview contains ratings,
outcomes, metrics, but that'snot the most important part.
The most important part is howyou frame the narrative.
Narrative, your employee didn'tjust hit or miss a number.
They lived a story this year,and when you can reflect that
(08:04):
story back to them with clarityand honesty, it does more than
just inform.
That inspires.
Was this a year of resilience?
Was it a breakthrough yearafter a rocky start, a year of
steady wins, deepened leadership?
You're not just reading numbersfrom a forum, you're naming
(08:28):
their season Something like youknow, you started this year
struggling with time managementand you missed your Q1 deadlines
, but it looks like by mid-year,man, you found your rhythm and
in Q3 and Q4, you're one of themost consistent people on the
team.
That's the growth I want tocelebrate today.
(08:48):
Or, hey, we had high hopes withyour stretch goals this year
and while we didn't quite hitthem, I saw consistent effort,
willingness to adapt.
You were coachable, you didn'tmake excuses, and that tells me
a lot more than the numbers evercould.
Your job as a leader is to holdup the mirror in a way that
(09:14):
reflects truth but also showswho they're becoming.
Don't miss this moment.
It's not about what they did.
It's about what they learned,how they grew and who they're
becoming.
All right, number five I wantyou to use measurement in order
(09:38):
to keep it fair.
Okay, this part is simple, butit is powerful.
See, when you tie yourevaluations to SMART goals, the
ones that were agreed upon earlyin their year, you remove
subjectivity.
You shift the conversation fromopinion to outcomes.
Here's the measurementframework.
(09:59):
I use three basic measurementsOkay, first one is exceeds
expectations.
That means they went above thetarget.
The second one is meetsexpectations.
They hit the goal as we defined.
And then there's did not meetexpectations, which means they
(10:21):
fell short of the goal.
I want to go back to that salesgoal.
In part one, we said where youwanted to close 34 deals by the
end of the year.
Here's how I'd break it down Ifthe goal was 34 deals and you
wanted to say, okay, exceeds,and we're going to set a
(10:41):
measurement for that.
That means you close 35 or more.
Remember the goal was 34, soexceeds is above the goal and
then meets.
In this case, again, with thegoal being 34, I'm going to say
you close 32 to 34.
Okay, I can make that anacceptable range.
(11:01):
If you're a little tougher thanthat, you can say, hey, 34 is
the goal.
You either meet it or youdidn't.
But in this case I said 32 to34.
And then anything below thatnumber.
So 32, 34, that means 31 orfewer.
That did not meet expectations.
Okay, and here's how I'd say it.
(11:23):
It kind of both ends here.
You know you finish with 36closed deals.
That's two over target.
Man, that's a strong finish.
But what impressed me more washow you responded during that
slow patch in Q3.
You didn't wait around, youshifted your approach and you
still delivered.
That's one of the reasons I'mmarking this as exceeds
(11:46):
expectations.
Or let's go to the flip sidehey look, you finished with 30
deals.
That's under our 34 deal goal.
We've been talking about thisthroughout the entire year, so
this isn't a surprise.
But we need to find a way toturn effort into execution more
consistently next year.
(12:06):
I know you have it in you, okay, and I'm here to help.
When it's measured well anddelivered with respect, even
hard feedback becomes a momentof trust.
Look, if you've listened tothis point, I want to challenge
you to do more than just nodalong.
Here's your move this week.
(12:27):
I want you to pull up yourteam's development plans.
I want you to schedule annualreviews two to four weeks in
advance.
Okay, start gathering notes fromyour one-on-ones your
employees' progress, theirchallenges, their wins, where
you had to pivot.
Frame each review not just as areport, but as a reflection, a
(12:52):
story, a mirror and, mostimportantly, prepare the
conversation with them in mind,not just what you need to say,
but what they need to hear,because your job isn't just to
evaluate performance.
Your job is to elevate people.
Do you hear me?
(13:14):
Your job is to elevate people.
Did you hear me?
Your job is to elevate people.
So make this review season onethat builds trust, reinforces
clarity and sets your team upfor an even better year ahead.
If you haven't listened to partone of the series, go hit that
one next.
(13:34):
Okay, it's the foundation ofeverything we covered here, and
it will help you build smartgoals that actually mean
something.
Okay, and if today's episodehelped, here's what I'd love for
you to do Subscribe to thepodcast so you don't miss what's
next.
I would love for you to sharethis episode with another leader
who has reviews on their plate.
Okay, and then connect with meon LinkedIn.
(13:56):
That link is in the show notes,but I love hearing from leaders
just like you, and if yourcompany needs help developing
managers, improving culture orbuilding systems that drive real
performance, I do.
Keynotes, workshops andcoachings that make a difference
, and I'd love to talk.
So until next time, don't justevaluate, elevate, and you know
(14:21):
why?
Because those are the thingsthat leaders do.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.