Our ninety-day reviews can be uncomfortable for me. They put some of my own failures as a founder in front of me, alongside the conversation about how someone else is doing.
In an early business, I want people who can execute with very little guidance. I'm spread thin, and finding someone who can take a piece of work and run with it feels ideal.
But I still have responsibility for their success. Expecting independence doesn't remove my part in helping them understand what we need.
That's the tension I keep coming back to. I want certain outcomes, and I don't always have enough time to give people the attention that would help them get there. A review makes me confront that rather than just be disappointed in the result.
The conversations can go in different directions. Some are difficult. I find them useful because they show us where we're falling short as leaders, and give us a chance to decide what happens next.
One thing I recommend from that experience is choosing one area of improvement. Give someone a whole collection of things to change, and it becomes harder to know where to start or what to review next time.
Pick one thing, come back in ninety days and see what changed. Then decide on the next thing.
I want these reviews to keep us connected to what we expected, what happened and what needs attention. That includes my own work. If an employee isn't succeeding, I need to look at my part in that before assuming the problem belongs entirely to them.
