An article in the Wall Street Journal (4/19/10) by Samuel A. Culbert, “Yes, Everyone Really Does Hate Performance Reviews,” comments that performance reviews are “one of the most insidious, most damaging, and yet most ubiquitous of corporate activities.”

The article goes on to say that performance reviews do enormous damage on both a personal level — the way it makes work lives miserable and leaves employees feeling depressed and anxious — and on a corporate level — the enormous amount of time and energy it wastes, preventing companies from tapping the innovative, out of the box thinking that so many employees are capable of.

Rather than the one-sided, boss-dominated, trust-busting performance review, how about replacing that with a straight-talking relationship where the focus is on results, and where the boss is held accountable for the success of the employee? Trust-boosting behaviors like asking and listening would result in honest conversations and evaluations that make employees strive to improve.

W. Edwards Deming, the late American quality guru was right all along. A July 24, 2003 article by Ronald J. Rakowski, SPHR, CELS in www.suite101.com, Performance Appraisal Anguish, commented:

Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the late American quality guru credited with being responsible for the “miracle” of Japan following World War II and a vocal critic of performance appraisals, once wrote, “In practice, annual ratings are a disease, annihilating long-term planning, demobilizing teamwork, nourishing rivalry and politics, leaving people bitter, crushed, bruised, battered, desolate, despondent, unfit for work for weeks after receipt of rating, unable to comprehend why they are inferior…” Asked what could possibly replace performance appraisals, Dr. Deming said, “leadership!”

To learn more about Dr. Deming, his background and thoughts, visit the W. Edwards Deming Institute at www.deming.org.