Don't Get Robbed at Your Next Performance Review
Imagine working hard and receiving positive feedback, but then, at your first performance review, you get a 'Concerns' rating. That's what happened to Jake.
Jake, a first-year lateral hire MBB consultant, was doing pretty well, getting great feedback and solid utilization.
He was told that the first review was just a pulse check and he should not worry.
But then he got a Concerns rating.
It devastated him.
He suspected a horrible mistake.
He couldn't recognize the feedback. He had never heard this from his leaders.
But even if it was a mistake, it's impossible to fix now. MBB firms are notoriously bad at acknowledging their mistakes.
Overnight, his positive case turned into a negative one.
Unfortunately, his chances of survival became around 10-20%, especially in this difficult economic environment.
He asked what he did wrong.
Nothing!
It's just that others did much better.
MBB consulting is the ultimate competition.
Consultants are assessed against their peer group.
The evaluation process is complex, and any mistakes will count against you.
That is why consultants must manage that process proactively.
You can't manipulate the process to get an undeserved rating.
But you must prepare well to secure your well-deserved one.
Why do mistakes happen?
Here's how junior consultants end up with bad ratings.
Evaluators collect feedback by calling partners and managers.
This is how a typical conversation goes:
"How is Jake doing?" the evaluator asks.
"Jake is doing okay, no red flags, developing according to expectations," the partner answers.
"But he needs to improve his basic consulting toolkit, slide-making skills, and productivity. There were situations where he made basic mistakes on critical pages, requiring several iterations to achieve the accepted output. He needs to improve attention to detail, top-down communication, and visibility in meetings. He's still not a standalone consultant and requires a lot of hand-holding."
And so on, and so on.
People tend to dwell on negatives and take positives for granted.
As a result, your feedback memo will skew heavily towards development needs with limited strengths.
When the committee looks at your paper, they'll see a struggling case and vote accordingly.
That's how you get a Concerns case.
The best protection from this happening is having a very strong case that nobody can dispute.
You must win by a knockout, not points.
Cus D'Amato, trainer of Mike Tyson.
Learn a few strategies you can use to avoid Jake's situation.
1. Secure leadership exposure
The most common problem is that partners don't know consultants well.
When it comes to feedback, they provide generic, tenure-appropriate comments.
They can't expand on your strengths. They simply don't know them.
As a result, you get feedback that lacks strengths and specific examples.
It will look very weak.
Instead, ensure you have enough leadership exposure points throughout your projects.
Make them insightful and memorable.
2. Conduct pre-review meetings
Your evaluator and leaders are busy with their hectic schedules and numerous other people to care for.
It's only natural that they will forget important things.
If you don't remind them, expect them to make mistakes.
To prevent that, conduct pre-review meetings with your evaluator and leaders.
Remind them about your situation and email them all critical information, facts, dates, and names, along with any talking points.
Be objective and fact-based, but make it easier for them to praise you.
If you have a special situation, ask for help.
For example, you risk getting a Concern rating or want a promotion.
Leaders know they need to be extra enthusiastic and articulate in these situations.
Because they were helped by others at some point in their career.
3. Encourage written feedback
It's hard to bullsh*t in the written feedback. So, it will force leaders to be more objective.
Also, they will notice that their strengths section is lighter and will balance it.
Often, evaluators will copy-paste that feedback directly into your feedback memo.
That's how you protect yourself from the evaluator's sloppiness or laziness.
If it's awkward to ask partners for written feedback, ask your managers.
You must have close relationships with them.
If you don't, it's a problem you must fix as soon as possible.
Jake asked me to help him by enrolling in my coaching program.
Unfortunately, I don't accept 'Concerns' cases.
The harsh reality is that I can't help them at this stage. It's not enough time to turn around the negative case.
But that's not the hardest part. Staffing will become nearly impossible as nobody wants to take troubled consultants.
Luck will play a disproportionate role here.
I wish Jake had joined the program a few months earlier. I could have helped him then.
But at that time, Jake was busy working hard and feeling pretty confident. Unfortunately, that's not always predictive of a positive outcome.
If you are an MBB consultant and want to achieve high performance, I would like to speak with you.
Book a Free 1-1 Consultation to discuss whether I can help you through my unique coaching program and playbook. There is no commitment, and you can ask me any burning questions you might have.
Read this post to learn more about the Hero’s Journey coaching program.