Return Strong: Ace Your Appraisal

It’s a common worry: How do I talk about my appraisal when I was away on maternity leave for part of the year? 

If your leave began mid-year, you might wonder what there is to even discuss , especially if the appraisal period ended while you were out.

A follower recently wrote in saying she wanted to talk to her boss about her appraisal but did not know what she could possibly say. She’d started her maternity leave in July and wasn’t sure what she could discuss, since her appraisal period technically ended before that.

She wrote, “To be honest, my bosses are very understanding of the pregnancy and I’m already quite grateful.”

I get it. Our brain’s default mode is gratitude. We tell ourselves, they’re so kind to even allow this, and before we know it, that gratitude turns into guilt, or worse, self-doubt.

But gratitude and advocacy are not mutually exclusive. You can be thankful and still advocate for yourself.

Your impact, before and after leave, still counts. And it deserves to be part of the conversation.

Being understanding of a pregnancy or new baby is the reality of wanting to keep high-performing women in the workplace. The conversation should focus on your impact and results, not the fact that you went on leave.

How to Own the Conversation

Instead of focusing on time missed, focus on value alignment. 

Here is the perspective shift you need:

Focus on the Impact: Your value is not defined by being present 100% of the time. It’s defined by the quality of the work and the results you achieved when you were there. If you’ve hit your prorated targets, had a baby, and the sales still went on to close, that is still a lot that has been achieved!

Visibility = Value Alignment:  You can have someone on the team who didn't hit targets versus someone who did hit prorated KPIs. The key is showing that your output aligns with the company's value. Make it easy for your manager to see your results. Create a career win deck on your results and show how it ties to business impact. The key is proactively reminding your manager of all the great work you've done before the evaluation!

Lead the Conversation: Even if you don't get the full bonus for being on leave, it is still crucial to have the conversation focused on the work you've done. Don't let your self-advocacy stop just because you had to go on leave. It is crucial to have the conversation that gives credit to the past and shaping it for the future, and about being seen, staying visible, and keeping momentum in your career.

You have already done the good work. Now, advocate for it.

Final Thoughts

Navigating performance reviews can be tricky but as someone who has landed  6 promotions in under 10 years, including my director role after coming back from maternity leave, trust me, there is a method to the madness. 

I’m hosting a masterclass on acing performance reviews in November. Let me know via this form if you’re interested!

Rooting for you,
 Angel Kilian
Founder | Career inFocus