Goldman
Sachs 'defines' a catch-up as the informal periodic review of the employee with
his/her manager. The word “periodic” is not defined, hence catch-ups can be weekly,
and at times, even daily! To clarify, a catch-up is not similar to one of those
parent-teacher school reviews you are part of, nor is it a performance review.
There are certain tips listed below which help you make the most of your
catch-up; and even keep you away from troubled waters. The below tips are
tested for its effectiveness personally by me, and believe me, (if followed)
they work!
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| Don't be afraid. You'll make a mountain outta molehill! |
1.
Take notes: When
called for a catch-up, always carry a notebook and a pen with you. Take notes
from the interactions with your manager. Imagine, you are advising someone on performance
improvement and you simply sit there. That's the way any manager would feel.
2.
Ask questions: A
catch-up is an interaction between a manager/peer with an employee. It is not a
lecture. Ask questions! (like what?) Ask about your performance levels, your
flaws, your strengths, areas of improvement, opportunities of showcasing your
finesse, to list a few. By asking questions like these, you make the manager
feel (rightly) that you are interested to grow and perform. The manager will be
glad to help you improve, because if you improve; your performances improve.
3.
Implement managers' advice(s): when
during a catch-up, the manager always gives you some advice with respect to
your skills, team work, performance, etc. Implement them in your daily work.
There may be times when you feel that the advice won't work in your case.
Implement it anyway and see the results for yourself. If the advice is doing
you more harm than good, inform your manager with pertinent instances about it
and he/she will help you an other way.
4.
Share results:
Catch-Ups are the best time to share results with your manager. It is given
that the manager is not oblivious of your results and achievements. He/she
knows about you more than you do (in terms of your job). Sharing your results
with your manager will make him/her realize that you are conscious of your
performances and are positive towards your job. There may be cases where you
have some misconceptions (towards your performances) due to which you over-rate
or under-rate yourself. The manager, in such cases, will help you see clearly
where you really stand.
5.
Talk about expectations:
Catch-ups are not only for complaints, reprimands, congratulations and
accolades. Utilize this time by understanding your manager's expectations of
you as an employee, as a team player. Ask him/her directly about it. This will
clear any mis-
communication present. That is, there may be cases when a manager
over-expects, due to which you always get to hear "you can do more",
"I expected more from you", "that's it?! That's all you could
do?". In such cases, clarifying helps. By talking about expectations, you
understand his/her expectations of you, and the manager will understand what
(and how much) to expect from you.
Following
these tips renders you to utilize this time super-effectively! Happy 1st
[or nth] job! Happy Catch-Up!
Vk Dadhich
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