The Other Side of Success: Dealing with Performance Review Disappointment
The Power of Perspective in Overcoming Professional Setbacks
Halo designers!
Last week at Klarna, employees received their annual performance reviews. While many celebrated promotions and raises, some people faced disappointment and self-doubt due to negative results. I am some people.
I think this is an important topic to discuss. What people usually share and see are success stories and tips on how to climb the ladder. What is often missing is how to deal with "failures". How can we bounce back from disappointing outcomes? How can we prevent negative self-perception?
Everything cannot be awesome all the time. And when it's not so awesome, it's tempting to give up on your goals because it feels daunting, settling for something that feels more achievable. And, initially, it doesn't feel good. But to really reach your potential you in fact need to fail. If you’re not failing, you’re not pushing your limits. And in fact, I think it’s more important to know how to deal with the bad because the good will take care of itself. So let's deep dive into this topic by using myself as an example.
Confronting Disappointment and Self-Doubt
I started working at Klarna in July 2022 and the performance review process started in January 2023 and the results were revealed in May. Evaluations involve feedback from colleagues and assessing your contributions compared to peers. For instance, I was compared to other Senior Product Designers at Klarna. The review yields a score of 1, 2, or 4. (There is no 3, aiming to set a high bar for high performers.) 1 means you are not meeting expectations, 2 means you are meeting expectations, and 4 means performing well above expectations.
Even though you probably already know that you should be kind to yourself and not think negatively because it won’t help you, it is difficult to be rational. It is difficult to not be emotional because we are emotional beings. This is difficult to come to grips with because, most times, it is easy to be rational. But that is when we are dealing with the daily small stuff. Receiving negative feedback on your design, things not going as expected, and making a mistake. But the performance review is the evaluation of what you've done in a year in comparison to others. And there won't be another evaluation until next year. That's a pretty big deal. If the results aren't what you expected, then that can be rough.
And as I mentioned in a previous post, I switched teams. And I didn't switch teams because everything was honky dory, but because I wasn't a good match for the team. So, as you can imagine, I got a 1 i.e. I was not meeting expectations. I know all of this, but I still got stuck in the negative mind trap.
The Role of Cognitive Distortions in Perceived Failure
In Cognitive Behavioral Theory, there's a concept called "cognitive distortions". These are patterns of thinking that cause people to perceive reality inaccurately. This can be harmful because if you're not in touch with reality, you will not be able to act on reality and improve your situation. Instead, you will be focusing on something that is not true and therefore cannot be improved.
So when I received the evaluation that I was underperforming, I experienced several cognitive distortions. I will share which and the reframes I used to return to a positive mindset. I believe the reframes will be useful for you too if you experience these cognitive distortions.
Using Cognitive Reframes to Navigate Negative Feedback
Overgeneralization
We overgeneralize by viewing a single negative event as an indicator of how it is going overall. Being evaluated as underperforming by my previous PM made me question my overall ability and value.
Reframes
"One person's evaluation of my performance does not define my overall abilities or potential."
"Everyone has off days or periods of underperformance. It doesn't mean this will be a continuous pattern."
"I can learn and improve from this experience. This feedback gives me areas to focus on for my future growth."
All-or-nothing thinking
We think all-or-nothing when we view things in either-or scenarios. My manager told me that my visual design work needs to level up for me to move toward promotion. But because that is what I am weak at and not where my passion lies, I was starting to think all-or-nothing. I was thinking that I either become great at visual design and continue as a product designer or I don't work on my visual design skills and change roles to become a product manager.
Reframes
"I can find ways to better align my interests with my role"
"Professional growth involves a continuous learning process; it's not about being perfect from the start."
Disqualifying the positive
Discounting and dismissing positive experiences. Although my previous PM rated me as lacking, my manager rated me as "performing as expected". That is actually something positive showing that I am doing something right, but the lacking evaluation overshadowed the positive news.
Reframes
"My current manager sees my value and believes in my abilities. I should give weight to this positive feedback too."
Since employing the reframes, I have a much more positive state of mind and I am excited to grow from this. Dealing with challenging times helps us learn how to deal with challenging times, you know.
P.S. If you are interested in reframing your own situation, you can try this ChatGPT prompt. I experimented with using ChatGPT to get through this and I was surprised at how helpful it was. There’s something about seeing an analysis of your situation written out.
Selamat tinggal,
Dan