Evaluation

A Hundred Years ago, I used to work in the public service.

Every year [but it felt like every three minutes] I had to complete a Performance Evaluation, which then went to my Manager. And then to my Director. And then to my Big Director. And then it increased my pay. Or something like that. [I was never quite sure.]

Anyway. I hated the whole process. Partly because I didn’t really understand it [the language was always so alien to me: stuff about key performance indicators and meeting objectives and achieving outcomes and other words that to me say nothing but take up a lot of room and drain a whole lot of energy].

But mostly because the process never really felt as though my efforts were being recognised and appreciated. I ticked the right boxes and wrote some comments and then other people wrote comments and then it was sucked into the Public Service Vortex. But no-one ever really looked me in the eye and said: you did well Alex. Thank you.

I was thinking about that last week, when I received a card in the mail. On Christmas Eve.

It was handwritten and was just about the nicest Thank You I have ever received. It was from a client of mine who is incredibly focused on designing and building an amazing life for herself. She is a bit freaked out but is working hard, finding courage and doing great things.

This [and all the other beautiful thank you messages I receive from other inspiring women] is the Performance Evaluation that I was always looking for but never found when I was working for others.

It fills me up.

Tags: appreciation, courage, gratitude, happiness, values