[JustSomeNobody]

> The truth is probably that I should have gotten into more serious talks with those employees instead.

Absolutely. A manager should regularly have conversations with everyone on their team. During reviews, absolutely nobody should be surprised by their review. If a manager has to fire someone, that person should not be surprised by this. Constant communication is not micromanagement, it is an absolute requirement of management. It is not one way, either; it is an open conversation.

> As an employee, try to be as a reflective person as you ask your boss to be one.

Yes and no. A manager cannot push their responsibility of open communication onto the employee by expecting them to just know what their performance is. That being said, upon proper feedback, yes, an employee should ingest that and reflect upon that feedback.

[plausibledeny]

I agree 100%, reviews should never be a surprise. But it's amazing how people have selection attention. I've told people that they were headed for a below average rating and found them to be surprised when they received that. It's tricky when you have an employee with performance issues, because you want to focus on the parts they're doing right but at the same time you need to give them honest feedback and it can get confusing. "But you said I was doing better."