According to Gallup, only 14% of employees strongly agree that their performance reviews help them improve. Traditional reviews and the typical feedback process are often so bad that they make performance worse about one-third of the time.

I experienced a mix of quality in my performance reviews over the years of my corporate career. Some of my managers took the time to solicit input, understand me, and provide thoughtful feedback.

However, a few of my bosses didn’t spend much time on my review at all, and it showed. They didn’t understand me or have a clue about what I had worked on during the year. Their feedback wasn’t helpful, and it actually made me doubt myself.

I’ve previously shared the story of my manager, who was only aware of about 60% of the work I’d completed. That was a wake-up call. My self-review was my only chance to address that issue with his perception.

That’s one reason I encourage you to write a thorough review of your activities, …