Bad Procurement Performance Review? Here’s How to Bounce Back
If you’re a procurement pro who has just received a not-so-great performance review, it can feel hard to bounce back. But here’s why you shouldn’t throw in the towel.
One of the most harrowing things that can happen in our careers is to receive a bad procurement performance review, especially if we aren’t expecting it, or don’t feel it’s justified.
A bad performance review can shake us to our very core; it can make us feel as if the time and dedication we put into our procurement career was pointless. It can make us question everything about ourselves and those around us; it can make us wonder if procurement is even for us.
But unfortunately, bad reviews are an inevitable part of everyone’s career – after all, nobody’s perfect! So when it does happen, how do we bounce back? Can we?
Is it possible to look at a bad review … in a good light?
We all know that negative feedback can be crushing. It can severely hurt our ego; quashing ideas about what we thought we were good at and capable of. If we suffer from professional insecurity, it can also confirm our worst fears: that we aren’t actually talented or good enough. These negative thoughts can spiral into something worse, like imposter syndrome, and affect our ongoing performance and attitude in the workplace.
Given all of the negative self-talk that can result from a bad review, is it actually possible to view it in a good light? It is – according to experts – and viewing a bad review differently can be the first step in bouncing back.
Mitchell Marks, a professor of management at San Francisco State University, says that a bad review can provide the reality check that we all sometimes need, while Sheila Heen, author of Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well believes a negative review can be a sign that you’re stretching yourself, but you’re not quite there yet.
Little do we realise at the time, but there can also be lots of positive consequences of a bad review, even if they aren’t intentional. You might experience a temporary boost in your creativity, and added motivation to learn and grow beyond the feedback given to you. And since nowadays in procurement innovation is everyone’s responsibility, extra creativity can go a long way.
Stop and think – especially before you respond
Even if a negative review can have positive consequences, it still hurts. And when we’re hurt we often react in undesirable ways, including getting angry, upset or defensive. For this reason, the second step if you receive a bad review is to stop and think before you say anything.
‘Stopping and thinking’ can take many forms, and it doesn’t necessarily mean ‘do nothing’. If you are really upset by the feedback you received, ask your manager if you can step out for a minute to compose yourself.
If you are stressed and don’t know how to best respond to the feedback, a great way to understand more about it is to ask questions. Asking questions such as, ‘Can you provide an example of that?’, ‘Can you explain that in more detail?’, or even, ‘Can you clarify what was expected there?’ will buy you time to calm down, but can also help you get a clearer picture of what the feedback means for your performance.
And if you need to let out your frustration? It’s perfectly ok to vent, but ensure that you do so after your review, and ideally to someone outside of work.
Acknowledge your blind spots
Despite these positive impacts, it isn’t all good news for the humble performance reviews: some performance reviews simply do more harm than good. But even though that may be the case, and if you receive a bad one, it’s still in your best interests to do what you can to learn from the feedback you’ve received.
Sheila Heen, author of Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well says that sometimes, it’s difficult to believe that the feedback we’re receiving is actually about us. However, this can be because there’s a gap between how we see ourselves, and how others see us, and this can be difficult to reconcile.
If the feedback you receive really doesn’t seem at all like you, Heen recommends seeking out a friend at work and running it by them: and when you do, you need to ask for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Although it can be difficult, it may be necessary to adjust our perception of our own performance and discover a few blind spots that we hadn’t seen before.
And as challenging as this might be, acknowledging our weaknesses is the first step in working towards rectifying them.
Make a plan – and don’t forget to look at the big picture
Just about the worst thing you can do if you receive a bad performance review is to dwell on it. Doing so can unleash a tidal wave of negative emotions, and get you stuck in a cycle of frustration and self-hatred. Dwelling on your bad performance review can also lead to some serious mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression.
After the initial shock and anger has worn off, it’s important to remember the point of a performance review, and that is: to help you improve in your job. So even if your manager hasn’t left you with a detailed plan on how to do better, one of the most empowering things you can do is to create one yourself.
Review your feedback, and create a SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-based) plan to improve. On your plan, have specific and small milestones, so you can celebrate small wins along the way. And most importantly of all, agree on outcomes with your manager … for example, if you achieve a certain goal, or meet a certain set of KPIs, you will receive a better review next time.
Finally, one of the most critical things you can do when you receive a bad procurement performance review is to reflect on the big picture. A bad performance review may not actually be about you, but instead a sign of other things, including that you’re ready for a new role, that you’re surrounded by toxic colleagues, or that you’ve got a bad boss. Think of the review as a sign of some sort, and ensure that you take action on whatever that sign is telling you.
How have your performance reviews changed since the pandemic era began? Let us know in the comments below!
