[crewtide]

Yeah, the biggest issue with management in general (and performance reviews in particular) is that it's focused on what people are doing poorly at/where they need improvement.

Good managers find out what each employee is awesome at and get them doing it. If you hire someone and what they love to do and are great at isn't what you need at your company, then you've hired the wrong person. But I know lots of people who left a job because they kept asking to be moved to a different role, different team, etc, and nothing happened.

Managers: focus on what each person is great at and loves to do.

[ironchef]

It's a pendulum. If management blows smoke and kissy faces all day at me telling me my poo doesn't stink, that's not helpful. If they only point out what is being done incorrectly, that's not good. A blend between the two plus upward reviews (my opinion) have been best when i've seen them in use.

Unfortunately, most companies and people don't design and execute performance reviews well.