For my current performance review cycle, I decided to experiment with goals worded in terms of competencies, rather than tasks. The purpose of which is to focus on developing competencies, instead of just measuring tasks completed.
At BSG, we take professional development seriously and set goals around contribution areas related to individual roles every six months. The key is regular, incremental feedback from peers and regular progress conversations with Career Facilitators. This encourages continuous improvement, and once you have demonstrated the competencies needed to move to the next job grade, a promotion is on the cards.
I found it easy to phrase the goals by simply rewriting the relevant, already defined, competencies in terms of my role. Because the competencies are the end-goal, making it relevant to my current job grade was a bit harder. In the end, I prefaced the goals I couldn't make more specific with "This competency-based goal is aimed at an Intermediate Java Developer".
It was also challenging to write measures for these goals. I quickly realised defining goals in terms of competencies means that they are not "S.M.A.R.T." i.e. not Specific, Measurable, Achievable, in the short-term. It's important to remember, the purpose of competency-based goals is to avoid being overly Results-focussed, focussing on development instead. If you are given the opportunity to thrive, learn and grow, the results will follow. Lastly, even though a performance review cycle is naturally Time-bound, developing a competency is a long-term undertaking, which will never be fully completed since it can always be refined.
Even though my goals are not "S.M.A.R.T." my Career Facilitator at BSG is happy with the way I defined them. He agrees it forms a good basis for the conversations we have about my performance, which are ultimately about me developing competencies.
Here is an example of one of my goals which I set for this review cycle:
This competency-based goal is aimed at the level of an Intermediate Developer. It relates to day-to-day delivery and the way in which it is done.
COMPETENCY: Deciding and Initiating Action: Makes prompt, clear decisions, on delivering new functionality and supporting operational needs as required. Takes appropriate action in line with the urgency, priority, and value of each piece of work.
COMPETENCY: Presenting and Communicating Information: Speaks clearly and fluently when collaboratively designing solutions. Expresses opinions, information, and the key points of an argument clearly.
COMPETENCY: Persuading and Influencing: Gains clear agreement and commitment from others during design sessions by persuading, convincing, and negotiating. Promotes ideas on behalf of self or others. Manages conflict.
COMPETENCY: Applying Expertise and Technology: Demonstrates the growing development skills of an intermediate-senior developer by delivering high quality software. Delivered solutions demonstrate a high level of expertise and domain knowledge by using the most appropriate tools and approach for each task. Manner of work shows a commitment to continuous improvement.
COMPETENCY: Delivering Results and Meeting Customer Expectations: Focuses on customer needs and satisfaction. Sets high standards for quality and quantity. Monitors and maintains quality and productivity. Works in a systematic, methodical and orderly way. Consistently achieves project goals.
Focussing on competencies gives a long-term view on professional development. This means you probably won't reach full competency (or, as we like to call it, being unconsciously skilled) in the first few years. Measuring this development is subjective, but it opens up the discussion with my Career Facilitator and my peers who provide incremental feedback about how I am faring compared to what is expected of me in my current position.
I have set other competency-based goals for relationship building, and for growing my influence in the software community. I have also set conventional measure-based goals for career facilitation, and for my contribution to our recruitment effort.
I am planning to follow up this post with another one reflecting on the success of this experiment, and on the ease of collecting incremental feedback for these goals.