Navigating Bias In Performance Reviews
Take the time to process the feedback and translate it into terms that are clear to you. Figure out what is evidenced and useful, and what needs to be clarified. “Let me take some time to process that."
Address intentions and share impact. Managers often start with positive intentions even when giving biased feedback. Acknowledging their intention can help lower defensiveness as you work together on resolutions. “Thank you for taking the time to share this feedback you shared for the sake of my growth and team success. I’m feeling challenged by this piece and would like to talk through it with you.”
Ask for explicit examples of how the behavior impacts your job responsibilities or output. “Can you share some examples of how this behavior is impacting my output/team success/interactions?”
Reframe feedback into specific actions. Feedback is not helpful if it's not actionable and specific. Oftentimes we assume what the right action might be without ever getting explicit instructions. “I’ve been doing this for x reason, it sounds like you’re asking me to change to y Is that correct?
Document feedback conversations with a written follow-up in a shared channel, document, or performance management tool like Lattice to ensure consensus on how to move forward. This can also help clarify where and what type of bias is coming up. “Thank you again for discussing this feedback with me. I am sharing notes from our call to keep us on the same page moving forward. Let me know if you notice anything missing.”
Enlist trusted community. Connect with other women of color, mentors, trusted peers, coaches, etc. inside your organization and outside to share the feedback and its impact on you. This can help you process emotions, rebuild confidence, and develop a plan for moving forward toward your ideal outcome.
Feedback always teaches us something, even when the specific feedback isn’t job-relevant. It can offer insight on how to grow, show us the boundaries of our current environment, and give us confidence in our authenticity.
As a coach, I look for ways to support Black and brown women as they process feedback (biased or not) and to develop self-advocacy in moments when organizations aren’t able to nurture and develop the diversity that our authentic voices, talents, and skills.
Black women, women of color, and gender expansive folks are more likely to receive biased performance feedback compared to their privileged peers in the workplace.
We hear things like:
“You’re not happy enough in the office.”
“Executive presence is still an opportunity for you. You just need a bit more polish.”
“Why don’t we see you at team happy hours.”
“You should really only be sharing your ideas with me rather than sharing in the team meeting.”
“You ask too many questions.”
“How are you able to get so much done and still log off at 6 pm?”
“Your style doesn’t really fit with the rest of the team.”
Even if the intention is positive, feedback like this is biased, racially coded, often disconnected from expressed job expectations, or even harsher than feedback to white colleagues who exhibit the same behaviors.
Feedback like this sends the message that there is insufficient space for the diversity you bring to an organization. Especially when this feedback doesn’t come with clear examples or direct action about how these behaviors impact outcomes and metrics, it can erode trust, engagement, productivity, and inclusion of underrepresented identities and experiences. It can also have impacts on earnings and career trajectories. It leaves Black and brown folks to internalize these comments and decide whether to embrace our natural skills and instincts or conform to white standards of professionalism.
With performance season around the corner, here are some tips for navigating biased and coded performance feedback: