So it’s that time of the year when you’re going to receive feedback.  You should have the conversation about 1) your business goals, and 2) your personal development goals.

So the business goal discussion is a pretty straightforward conversation. Less straightforward is the personal development one.

Here’s what you should be thinking about:

1. How did you do? What were the areas of development you wanted to improve on this year? It’s not a long list: 1-3 is fine. But you should check with your manager whether or not you 1) stayed the same, 2) got worse, or 3) got better.
2. Cause and effect: it’s not enough to just know you got “better at communicating.” Ask what was different. You want to know what behavior changes moved the needle so you can keep doing it.
3. Talk about expectations for the next year: this is only one chapter in a long book: what do you want to work on next year?  What would that mean for you (e.g. areas where you need to improve) , and what would that mean for your manager (finding you a mentor, giving you broader scope)?

I never took advantage of the year end discussions the way I should have. Don’t make my mistake.