Over the years, I have failed to set clear expectations with people who were reported to me several times. Almost always, both I and the other person were left frustrated about how it went and the outcome.
Generally, as an employee, not knowing what is expected of you in terms of performance can have catastrophic repercussions on your job. Poor performance leads to burnout for the individual and other people around them. One poor performer has an unrepairable impact on the rest of the team.
One lesson I have learned over the years is that people are more interested in knowing their performance than their manager might realize. Many leaders are afraid of bringing up constructive feedback, which has the opposite effect. The empowerment that comes with actionable feedback, coupled with specific examples and the reasons why it's important, is what people crave and what can truly make a difference in their performance. It's not about pointing out flaws, but about guiding them towards growth and improvement.
One critical element of any performance conversation is ensuring that the other person feels heard. This is essential for fostering a culture of open communication and mutual respect. Disagreements can happen, but when you're appropriately prepared, the feedback needs to stand still. And obviously, there should be no surprises. Nobody should be surprised to receive feedback about low performance that has been happening for a while. This underscores the importance of delivering constructive feedback in a timely manner, holding everyone accountable for their performance.
Here are the performance expectations I set to myself, my peers and the people reporting to me, regardless of their level of experience or expertise. I have never taken the time to document it, but here it is! And I even made an infographic.
I have refined them throughout the years with the help of multiple engineering leaders and by observing what made the most successful teams I've been a part of. This is not an engineering ladder; it is my own philosophy on what makes the most productive and performant engineering individual on a team.
