A 'Hot Potato' Management Dilemma 5 | 29

When you inherit a new direct report near review time, do a 360 performance review by soliciting specific feedback from previous managers, teammates, and anyone else familiar with their work. Crucially, ask the employee themselves who you should include in that feedback loop — they know who has seen their best (and worst) work. Pair that input with your own early observations to build the most complete picture you can before assigning any rating.

Defaulting to 'Meets Expectations' purely out of uncertainty isn't Radical Candor — it's Ruinous Empathy. Instead, gather as much specific feedback as possible through a 360 review, have an honest conversation with the employee about their own self-assessment, and use all of that context to assign the most accurate rating you can. If you genuinely can't determine performance, be transparent with the employee about that ambiguity rather than masking it with a default score.

An 'I love me' folder is a personal record you keep of your own wins, losses, and areas for improvement throughout the year. It's a self-curated performance file that makes it easy to complete a self-evaluation at review time and, crucially, to get a new manager up to speed quickly on your goals and track record. When you're bounced between managers — as the listener's direct report was — this folder becomes your professional lifeline, ensuring your accomplishments aren't lost in the shuffle.

Contradictory feedback is actually informative — it tells you the employee's performance may be context-dependent. Dig into the specifics: What tasks or projects produced the 'below level' feedback vs. the 'great team player' comments? Look for patterns tied to the type of work, the team environment, or the clarity of expectations. Then have a direct conversation with the employee to understand their own perspective, and use Career Conversations at the start of the new year to set clear, shared expectations going forward.

Start by making the role's expectations crystal clear to both of you, since inconsistent management is likely a big reason performance has been hard to gauge. Schedule Career Conversations early in the new year to understand the employee's long-term goals, strengths, and growth areas. Commit to stability — being bounced across four managers in a year is disorienting — and give this person a genuine chance to perform under consistent guidance before drawing conclusions about their capabilities.

Career Conversations are structured discussions between a manager and a direct report that explore three things: the employee's life story and values, their long-term dreams and goals, and an 18-month career action plan. In the context of a 'hot potato' situation, these conversations are especially valuable because they help a new manager quickly understand what motivates the employee and what success looks like for them — creating the foundation for fair, meaningful performance management going forward.