Fueled by Passion: Embracing Life Through Sports

My Running Journey: From Naperville to San Francisco

In 2016, I took my first step into the world of half marathons at the Naperville Half. Since then, I've embraced the rhythm of the road, averaging 2-3 half marathons annually. The Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon challenged me, not once, but twice. I returned to Naperville, my running roots, two more times, each race a reminder of how far I've come.

Between these longer races, I've sprinted through countless 10Ks and 5Ks, honing my stride and speed. But July 2023 brought the pinnacle – the San Francisco Half Marathon. With stunning views and a personal best, it was a journey's crescendo.

My running journey isn't just about races; it's a symphony of self-improvement, determination, and joy in every step. The road ahead? More miles, more milestones, and the promise of becoming an even better version of myself.

My Cricket Resurgence: Finding Excellence in the Bay Area

After years away from the cricket field and a move to the Bay Area, I rediscovered my love for the sport in August 2022. It marked the beginning of an incredible resurgence in my cricketing journey.

Initially, I considered myself more of a batsman, but I soon realized that my core strength lay in fast bowling. This revelation led to a challenging transformation, both mentally and physically. I questioned whether I should continue playing the sport, but I knew that change often brings out the best in us.

This summer season has been a revelation. I've pushed myself relentlessly, and it's paid off. I've earned two "Player of the Match" awards, contributing significantly to my team's victories. These performances are my best yet, and they've fueled my determination to keep improving.

As I look ahead, I'm excited about the many more matches, challenges, and victories that await me in my cricket journey. This resurgence has shown me that it's never too late to rediscover your passion and excel in it. Here's to many more innings and wickets to come!

Theory of Annual Performance Reviews

What is an annual performance review? Why does it matter and why do these conversations feel so complex?

There are many “Why’s” and more simpler ways to answer those “Why’s”! My goal for this article is for you to understand how you can look past the unknowns and how you can or should transform the unknowns to facts and be in control.

Let’s dive into the “Myths” and the “Mysteries” of the annual performance review conversations.

Myth

Have you ever heard a colleague or a friend at work say,”I had a bad performance review/rating because I am not in the good books of my boss” or “My boss is biased to certain team members” or “he/she doesn’t care what I am contributing towards”? There are many flavors to these statements.

I heard these statements of regret, denial and frustration from colleagues, friends and family. Is it a myth or does some truth exist in these statements?

Mystery

Is it a mystery? If you ever felt mysterious about your annual performance review and rating, then you are part of the myths group. Myth and mystery go hand in hand as both are not driven by facts but based on perceptions, assumptions and over expectations.

Time and again I have seen peers, colleagues and friends felt left out or kept in dark when it comes to annual performance review. What can be done to bust the myths and solve the mystery? Before we jump in there, let’s first understand the why’s

Why do we need performance reviews?

No matter the size of the company, all are driven by the bottom line, profits and existence. How is the bottom line related to performance reviews? Well, let’s not dive into that rabbit hole, but for simplicity’s sake, top performing teams thrive, high performing individuals empower the company, contribute to the profitability of the company. Who evaluates who is efficient? That’s where performance reviews come into play. An objective driven process to identify top performing individuals/teams. Also identify the individuals/teams who are detractors to the organizations vision and goals. In short , a simple retrospective process that helps organizations grow by evaluating the most valuable assets in the company which is, the people in the organization.

Why do Annual Performance Review feels so complex?

Annual performance reviews are indeed complex and exhausting. Any time when people related decisions are involved then it has to be documented, audited and kept transparent so the labor laws that help protect employee rights do not take down the companies in case of a law suit. This is via a legal and Human Resources (HR) lens. But every executive/management member of the organization wants data to make a sound judgement based on data. How do we construct that data? HR Team helps build that framework via tools either inbuilt by the company or an out of the box product. The data required to construct the narration for performance reviews is a 360 degree unbiased view provided by peers and folks one has interacted during a calendar year. Now with that disclaimer, why is it still complex? If you have not defined what your success looks like, if you have not worked on what it means you are meeting your expectations from day 1 of the year, then it is even more complicated than just collecting the data.

Why are Managers/Leader secretive about it?

The core complexity of the annual performance review is because how leaders keep it a secret . Organizations are transparent about the visibility of the timelines but not the outcome. They are secretive because the reviews are cumulative and stack ranked in the hierarchy of the organization. What does that even mean?Let me explain. For example, you might be the top performer on the team but when listed against the overall org, you might not be in the final pool of the top performers of the org. Why is that so? It could depend on the organizational processes that would impact the final decision. Until this process is finalized at the company level, the manager/leader will not be able to share the details. A mini disclaimer that not all organizations have this pyramid structure in the exact format but a similar flavor is followed.

Now that you have made it so far with the myths and why’s, here is my take on how to ace it and bust the myths & mysteries

Expectations

Expectations play a very critical part in how to tackle the myths and mysteries. Often times expectations are in your head or in a verbal conversation. Simply put ,such expectations are of no value. First step towards a successful career is to set the expectations with your manager and the skip level manager. Help them understand what you are expecting from the role and what they are expecting from you in that role. Once you establish that, send a simple note after your conversation. As a next step, you need to have a constant conversation about how you are meeting those expectations over time. Mind you, a good practice is to have a touch base month over month to go over your progress. You and your manager being on the same page is very critical for the yearly reviews.

Now that you have a cadence, how to achieve those expectations? Answer is Goal Setting..!

Goals

Once you set the expectations, you are responsible to identify the goals and how you want to achieve this. Remember, goals and expectations are 2 different things and never mix them up. But, what are your goals? How do you determine your goals? 90% of the time when someone asks what’s your goal, the first answer I have heard or given in the past is, I want to get promoted to next level in 12 months. Well, always remember career progression is not a goal. It’s a desire! And, it is a debatable statement - but, in my opinion, it is still a desire! Every organization has multi year goals. Depending on the size of the company and where they are in their journey, goals can be very aggressive. As an individual, identifying your purpose and understanding what role you play in the organization helps defines goals. Goals can be set to improving efficiency - be it in hiring process, developer productivity, code improvements, infrastructure and time to market etc. Whatever the goal could be, quantifying the goal and impact of hitting that goal is very critical. Once you have established a meaningful goal, seek guidance on how to achieve them and ensure those goals are still intact as the year progresses. Each meeting you have with your manager or skip level manager during the year, should have 2 flavors to the discussion. “Am I meeting the expectations?” and “How far ahead or behind am I on my goals?”

It’s Your Career

At the end of the day, it’s your career. You are responsible for ensuring you are doing well. To bust the myth and mysteries, a simple understanding of your role and responsibilities is important. How are you doing in your role? What impact are you making in your role? Is it adding up to the organization/team vision and goals? If you are proactive, and most importantly, transparent while having this conversation? Remember, these conversations are a two way street. If you shed more light into your work and your expectations, feedback will start to flow. How you respond, quantify and move forward defines you. Receiving feedback is important and acting on it is much more important. If you have established a flavor of this framework, then I strongly believe you are not worried about your performance review because you know what it is going to be.