There’s a big ugly 12-foot Monster who walks around and destroys the lives of those working in corporate life.

You've heard of The Monster. It has a variety of different names: The 360 Evaluation, Quarterly Reviews, Annual Reviews, Performance Evaluations/Reviews and other devices that measure you for the pleasure of the kill and to keep you in line. If you work in the corporate world, you WILL get murdered by The Monster; there are no reprieves and no surviving The Monster. I know that The Monster walks among you, because about half of our business is generated by those who have been badly wounded and who came to EMCI after receiving a less than satisfactory 'grade' on their evaluation. They came to us bloody and weak but within days or at the longest, within weeks, of coaching, EMCI makes them strong again and ready to live the life they've chosen.

There are two ways you can respond to The Monster’s lethal wrath. The first is, you can die as a functional employee and be beaten into submission and compliance so that you’re ruled by the fear of "A blemish on Your Permanent Record," (The Monster’s favorite reading material). You then vow to put forth your maximum effort to keep your job and avoid being the target of anyone, especially those above you. You may on the other hand choose to keep a low profile, do your work with the minimum amount of flair and noise and plot on how to screw those who wronged you. Remember, I've heard hundreds of stories over the years so I don't have to make up this stuff.

The frightening part of this is, we almost never see these dead people in coaching. They’re the ‘quiet dead’ that companies keep because they’re compliant and ‘good’ workers. These people fill the ranks of Corporate America or wherever else they may reside. They're not bad or wrong, just dead.

The other type of murder by The Monster happens when an evaluator thinks they’re killing you by threatening to slap a ‘blemish’ on your record and expecting you to fall in line as one of the living dead. The offending powers-that-be give you a ‘bad’ review or even one little section of your evaluation that’s not quite up to their standards, and they expect you to suddenly correct your ‘weaknesses’ so they can keep you under control. They have no idea how dangerous this assumption is for them. This time, you make a very different choice. You’re actually being given your freedom through the death of your OLD self and having your new (and far more dangerous) self emerge. Now, the "Real" you can start playing the game of life at a new and more meaningful level. These brave people are the ones who often become EMCI clients and begin to enjoy life again.

The first thing you learn in this process of becoming the real you, is that there is no such thing as a "Permanent Record." You’re only as good as the work you completed yesterday or at most last week. If you don't believe that, ask for a raise based on your high school grades. There is no repository of old information that can harm you in any way. It’s all a fear tactic to make you play by their rules. NEWS FLASH - THERE ARE NO RULES.

As the "Old" you dies and the "Real" you comes into play you'll need some skills and tactics to make your ascent more fun and infinitely easier. Here are three useful tactics to get you started:

  1. Begin to widen your list of contacts and enhance your value to yourself and your company. This includes getting to know more people inside and outside of your company, industry and community.

  2. Learn to ask, "What has to happen for me to receive better marks on my evaluation?" This forces the evaluators to tell you what they expect and how specifically they measure the changes or ‘improvements’. Force them to be specific to the point of writing down exactly what they say and sending it to them in an email so there is no chance of a misunderstanding on your next exposure to The Monster. This tactic is call CYA.

  3. Stop seeking approval. You do not have to please anyone who is not supportive of you and your career. This is very tough to implement because no one has ever told you this before. When you stop looking for approval and desire for your work to be complemented upon, make a note offering yourself kudos and keep them in a file. Build up your own record of rewards and stop seeking your value from others.

There you are, Murder by Evaluation, and the EMCI solution to come out vitally alive on the other side every time.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.