A few months ago I worked with an engineer who was on a performance improvement plan. One bad review away from being let go.
His work wasn't the problem. It's rarely the problem. It was how he was being seen, and how he was handling the politics stacked against him. We worked through all of that first , how he showed up in meetings, how he talked about his own work, who actually needed to notice it.
One of the things that came out of it was a win log, every time he shipped something, fixed something, made a call that mattered, write it down that day, before it got forgotten or credited to someone else.
Two months later he passed the PIP. Got a raise on top of it.
Not because his output changed. Because for the first time, someone above him could actually see it, and he knew exactly how to make sure they did.
It opens July 7.
- Karell aka The Serious CTO