T his year is clearly one that no one planned for. The ink was barely dry on annual goals, objectives, and expectations for 2020 when many organizations were upended by Covid-19.

Many leaders already don’t relish the year-end tradition of evaluating performance and development, and they are understandably concerned about how to structure these conversations under current circumstances—or even whether such conversations should be conducted.

But here’s the truth. Your employees need this conversation more this year than ever before. Stress. Anxiety. Displacement. Isolation. Disappointments. The list goes on. People need to connect. They need space and time to be carved out to reflect deeply upon, and make sense of, the past year. They need to feel valued for what they were able to accomplish—even if it wasn’t all that was expected.

So, this year’s reviews may be the most important such meetings a leader will conduct. And when addressed skillfully, they can be a dynamic opportunity to build pride, insights, relationships, trust, and motivation for the coming year. But not if they default to last year’s script or road map.

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