Self Appraisal and maturity to do so

This might sound right out of the horse's mouth and full of sattire, but i believe this is single most important thing in current scenario. To know, your strength as they are and to be wise enough to list out your shortcomings will ensure that you remain successful in your entire duration of work life. Talking of appraisal's can leave a taste in mouth (bitter/sour/good is situational). Appraisal's are talk of the town around march-april time frames and every company does it in two ways. Self Appraisal - done by employee and then feedback - given by reporting authorities. This piece is more focussed towards the self appraisal part of it.

Increasingly Appraisal's are being seen as "weapons of career destruction" then its actual role. Appraisal's i believe are a very good way of assessing the year as it went by. Finding out what you wanted to achieve, how much did you achieve, and what should be done so that in the coming year, you end up achieving more than the previous year. The world is competitive and so its absolutely important for you to be on a continuous improvement drive.

Some individuals are wise enough to sit, understand and chalk out a plan for themselves, others (majority) are the ones who often feel disheartened, disgruntled, deffensive, depressed and disgusted after their appraisal. I often wonder, where is the gap and decided to write down my view on it.

1. Know yourself: - IT is one place which can easily be listed down as an area which employs largest group of "Average" minded people. There is nothing wrong in being average, and by no means i want to sound derogatory. But, no matter how much we argue, IT is the only place that couldve accomodated people like me with all the shortcomings that i have.

Hence, it becomes imperative for me to know myself. First of all, to understand that i am average, with lot of shortcomings. No, i dont have to be depressed with this thought, rather, it will be begining of a journey of self realisation and setting up proper expectations from myself. I believe, all of us average people need to know these three things: -

a) Whats my aim in life? (What i want to be?)
b) Whats the time frame that i have? (deadlines are extremly important?)
c) What it takes to be the person/role that i want to become? (personality traits)

Write answers to these three questions in black and white. Offcourse you can come back and make changes, but its important to write it down. Once you have done so, be honest and write down what you currently have in your personality. Once this gap analysis is done, open up your last two appraisals and see if you have missed anything. If everything is in order then it would mean that you have defined your boundaries and the target is set.

2. Talk/read about your aim: - One might aim for anything in the world, but its often important to check the possibility of achieving it. Doing a critical analysis of the aim is as important as choosing the aim itself. Now, who do you want to be your critic also is very important. You go to your friends and they pump you up with most amazing and "wasteful" energy and anything that Amitabh Bacchan can do on screen, you would dream to achieve. You go to your boss, and if in not in his senses, he might take you to the verge of suicide. Hence, selection of a mentor is so important in life. He/she can be anyone, from any field, but is best critic of you. The person should be irrational towards you, and someone who sees you from a distance and catches your ability. Now, i know its difficult to find someone like that, but trust me its most important.

You need to inteact with your mentor who does a critical analysis of your ability whenever you get time. It can be a discussion over tea, walk, breakfast table, or any where. The other most important thing is that you should be open in your discussion with the mentor and tell him/her everything that is in your mind.

3. Draw a chart: - Put up the three questions mentioned in point number 1, and post them at a place where you can see it regularly. It can by your handheld, laptop, desktop, anything. Important is to visit these on the pre-decided time frame.

The most important critic of you, is inside your head. The problem is most often its biased. The wise man are able to remove that bias from their head and hence they are able be on a continuous improvement cycle. It will be extremly important to be a wise man in life.

The other important thing is, the difference between a Asset and a liability. Its extremly important to understand the fundamental difference between these and needless to mention that be an Asset to the company. A liability does not hold a chance to negotiate for anything. Its ok if you are a liability for a short duration, but its extremly important to keep the duration short to avoid any unpleasant circumstances.

Will write more on this asset vs liability in my next write up.