Struggling With Self Appraisals? 7 Sample Comments for Leadership Positions
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Self appraisals are a helpful tool allowing you to recount your successes over the year and reflect upon experiences. More and more, employees are being requested to complete self appraisals in preparation of formal performance reviews.
Employees are not the only ones who can benefit from self appraisal. Managers and people in leadership positions may find this to be a practical and illuminating exercise as well.
5 Sample Comments for Self Appraisal of Leaders
I hold myself accountable for the performance of the team as a whole.
I provide reports with the appropriate direction, clarification and feedback to take action.
Structure projects and assignments with clear goals and measurable outcomes so that team members create optimal solutions.
Use training opportunities to develop our people personally and professionally, thereby resulting in innovative teams.
Maintain a healthy and inclusive work environment in which all employees can function optimally.
Self appraisals only go so far when you focus on general ideas and performance categories. You will also need to reflect on specific achievements and actions which you have taken.
These appraisals make the most impact and best showcase what you have accomplished when specific facts and figures are detailed.
Sample Self Appraisal - Marketing Manager
Below is a sample self appraisal written by a Marketing Manager:
"When I entered into the role of Marketing Manager at SAMPLES Co., my biggest goals were to increase company standing in the industry and bring up website traffic by 25%. I set 3 objectives for my team to progress towards these goals: increase SAMPLES presence at industry conventions and trade shows, take a more active role in trade shows and conferences as speakers, and increase social media presence to capture more traffic.
Over the past year, my team and I have accomplished impressive results that showcase our ability to strive and thrive. Compared to the previous year, when SAMPLES attended just 1 convention and 3 trade shows, we were present at 3 industry conventions and 4 trade shows this year, enabling us to increase brand awareness and form valuable contacts with industry experts. We applied for over 15 speaking engagements and were invited to participate in 3 events.This included booking our CEO for a local news segment that averages 50,000 daily viewers.
Our team also made great improvements in social media activity and engagement. In addition to our profiles on LinkedIn and Facebook, we established a Twitter account and became active in B2B networks on the platform. Social media posts were scheduled weekly and integrated with content marketing efforts. As a result, we saw a 30% increase in website traffic from last year, as well as an improvement in click-through rate from 5% to 18%.”
Notice that the marketing manager clearly defines what their original goals and expectations were at the beginning of the year.
The rest of the appraisal goes on to detail the steps taken to reach those big goals and the successful results backed up by numbers and percentage increases.
Areas for Improvement
However, a self appraisal won’t be as valuable to you if you simply gloss over any shortcomings.
Everyone has room to improve, and you shouldn’t be resistant to this fact.
Below is another sample showcasing how a marketing manager might address an issue they recognized in their performance:
“Due to our ambitious marketing goals for this year, I pushed my team hard to exceed standards, put in the work and approach tasks with their best effort. I understand that my expectations at times were demanding and put some team members to the test. There were instances when my feedback was received negatively and I could have done more to be considerate of people’s tolerance for stress. I would like to improve upon my emotional intelligence and recognize signs of burnout in order to address it before it becomes an issue for employee productivity.”
Interested in more self evaluation phrases and examples? Take a look at our self evaluation mini-series.
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