How to have a successful performance review

You can improve your evaluation with the right preparation. And the same steps work whether you're asking for a promotion or simply wanting to ace your performance review.

Mary ·

Before You Start

Goal: Leave with your wins tracker, the start of your self-review, and a plan for what to do if the review doesn’t go as you hope.

Read: Asking for a Promotion in Your Performance Review: How to Prepare — Members are encouraged to read beforehand, but a quick recap at the meeting works too.

Meeting Agenda · Approx. 60 mins

  • Member Updates · 10 mins
  • Icebreaker · 10 mins
  • Key Takeaways · 5 mins
  • Activities · 20 mins
  • One Action · 10 mins
  • Wrap-Up · 5 mins

👋 Member Updates · 10 mins

Go around your Circle and share personal updates. Keep them brief and focused on significant changes or important decisions since the last time you met. It's OK not to have one every month. If you have a One Action update from last time, share that too.

🧊 Icebreaker · 10 mins

Invite everyone in the group to share. Keep answers to one or two minutes per person.

Think back over the last six months. What's one accomplishment you're proud of that you'd like your manager to know more about?

🔑 Key Takeaways · 5 mins

  • Start with your manager's priorities — Ask your manager regularly which two or three outcomes matter most to them and how you can support them. Helping your manager succeed is one of the fastest ways to get ahead.
  • Build a wins tracker at least one month before your review — Record your impact in concrete terms: revenue influenced, problems solved, metrics moved, and feedback received. Lead with the wins that connect to your manager's goals.
  • Make your accomplishments easy to see — It's crucial to do this ahead of review time, but it's also helpful to share updates throughout the year, either monthly or in 1:1s.
  • Give your peer reviewers what they need to be specific — If your company does 360 reviews, send each reviewer a warm note with your top priorities and a link to your wins tracker.
  • Your self-review shapes your formal evaluation — Build it from your wins tracker and frame every contribution around team and business impact: "I drove X, which helped the team achieve Y and Z metrics."
  • Use the review conversation to plan what comes next — Ask for specifics when feedback is vague, and ask what you'd need to accomplish to advance in your role.

🏋️ Activity 1 · 10 mins

Build Your Wins Tracker

  1. Write down the two or three outcomes you think matter most to your manager. You can confirm these with your manager later.
  2. List 3+ recent wins in concrete terms: revenue influenced, problems solved, metrics moved, or feedback received. Include numbers wherever you can.
  3. Draw lines connecting your manager’s priorities to the wins that support them. These wins should go first in your self-review.

Discuss as a group:

  1. Which of your wins are you most excited to share with your manager?
  2. Which wins need you to find a number, a metric, or a piece of feedback to make them concrete? Where could you find it?
  3. What's one thing you'll do in the next month to keep your tracker up to date ahead of review season?

🏋️ Activity 2 · 10 mins

Start Drafting Your Self-Review

  1. Pick your top two wins from Activity 1. Write each as a self-review entry, leading with the impact your manager cares about most: "I drove X, which helped the team accomplish Y, leading to Z metrics."
  2. If you're planning to ask for a promotion, write out how you'll frame the request around your contribution to the team and business — for example: "I want to take on more responsibility so I can have a bigger impact on [team goal]. Would you consider advancing me to the next level?"

Discuss as a group:

  1. Read one of your self-review entries aloud. What makes it strong, and what would make it stronger?
  2. Are there specific projects or wins you'd like your peer reviewers to comment on?
  3. What will you say if your review conversation is more challenging than you expect?
  4. What questions will you ask if you receive vague or unhelpful feedback?

Optional take-home practice: Paste your wins tracker and your manager's priorities into an AI tool and ask it to draft a one-page self-review. Edit the draft so every contribution is framed around team and business impact.

🎯 One Action · 10 mins

Commit to one concrete action — big or small — you'll take before next meeting. Go around the Circle and share (1 minute or less per member). Vocalizing it helps hold each other accountable.

Ask your manager about their top priorities, and find concrete outcomes data for at least five wins on your wins tracker. Come back ready to share how these steps went.

📅 Wrap-Up · 5 mins

Before you break, plan your next meeting and close on an energetic note. Go around your Circle one by one and finish the sentence:

Now I am feeling… (choose one word).

  • Set the day, time, and location
  • Choose the next topic or resource
  • Confirm who's leading the discussion
  • Decide how you'll stay in touch in between