Being good is not enough

I got my appraisal today at work and I have been given “average” rating. There is a slight pain in the heart as I see it. Having been first in college and school, and having performed well in my first organization, I feel bad to get an average rating.

Suppose if I evaluate myself, this year I have been good at the jobs allocated to me. I have performed them to the best of my ability and the requestors have been happy. And that’s where it stops. I have not done anything beyond that. No initiatives taken. No new ideas contributed. I have also not attended any workshops / group activities. And since I had taken four months of maternity leave, I had also missed out on trainings and other new initiatives. So, I guess average is a fair assessment.

I think it is also a good time for me to answer a few questions about my career.

-> What is that you want from your career? Is it just the salary?

Definitely not. I want to take up challenging assignments, work on them, complete them successfully, and feel satisfied about my work.

-> With the above answer, you are aiming only for average rating even next year. Because until you contribute more than what is required, you can not obtain higher ratings. What is your take?

Correct. I should come out of my comfort zone and try to look for ways to improve myself and team. Let me think about these and develop a plan.

-> Do I have any long term goal?

Not really. I have never been someone who set long term goals.

-> What do I want to do the next year? Do I want to continue doing the same or I would like to grow into newer roles?

Well, this is the toughest question to answer. With a baby, I have no clue how much time I will be able to devote to my work.

Ideally next year I would like to be good at my job but also be proactive in identifying areas of improvement, finding ways to deliver more value to the team and be a team player. I hope this is a realistic target for me and I will be able to balance work and family.

-> How long do I plan to work from home?

I should motivate myself to be back in work as soon as possible. From April, I should be able to go back to office. Of course, this would mean I sort out a lot of personal issues and establish a strong support system at home. This is a big challenge and I hope things fall in place.

So, the action now is to constantly look for ways to improve and be proactive.