A recent discussion that was triggered between a few group of friends: when it comes to year end performance:
How do we do our writeups in such a way that we can clearly highlight our contributions, without coming off as self-centered, arrogant or just plain “showing off”? Where do we draw the line between humility and giving justice to our efforts?
There is a time and place for everything. As Muslims, it is in the DNA of our religion to be humble. Among many authentic hadith regarding this, one of them is one in which the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
إنَّ لِكُلِّ دينٍ خُلُقًا، وخُلُقُ الإسلامِ الحياءُ
“Verily, in every religion, there is a (primary) characteristic: and the characteristic of Islam is that of modesty/humility” (Narrated by Ibn Majah, Muwatta Malik)
And by default, this should be our demeanor. However, there are some contexts, where it is a necessity or a greater benefit to mention our qualities, such as employment and performance reviews.
Consider the case of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) alayhissalam, when he offered himself to the King be appointed as the Minister (Al-Aziz) when he said:
قَالَ اجْعَلْنِي عَلَىٰ خَزَائِنِ الْأَرْضِ ۖ إِنِّي حَفِيظٌ عَلِيمٌ
"Appoint me me over the storehouses of the land; Indeed, I am a knowledgeable guardian". (Surah Yusuf, 12:55)
In his request, Yusuf clearly mentioned his qualities to the king – hafidz (guardian), aleem (knowledgeable, competent for the job). Was Yusuf bragging or boasting?
As we know from the story of Yusuf, he was among the most humble and modest of people. But in this circumstance, he knew, from the King’s dream that there was impending crisis (a seven-year drought), and Egypt could end up in some dire consequences if its resources were managed in wrong hands. Since he knew he had what it takes, he showed the ownership to step up and offer himself to resolve the problem.
If he remained “humble” about his qualities/qualifications, the King may not recognize why Yusuf was worthy to handle such a job! It was a necessity to highlight his credentials to demonstrate that he was up to the task.
Think about it this way: can you imagine the value of a “humble” CV / resume? How attractive is that? Imagine, going on Linked In and stumbling across someone’s CV that says Educational Qualifications & work experience = “Nothing much lahh”.
So now, answering the question at hand. When it comes to performance reviews, we SHOULD highlight our contributions to our superior. In fact, don’t pull your punches or hold back!
One of the ways we can rethink this paradigm is to see it from the perspective of the employer/ your superiors:
1. Imagine them asking this question: What did you do to earn that paycheck? Why should we keep you, if there are better people out there, especially under these tough conditions? What benefit does the organization gain with your presence?
2. They may not be aware of your contributions and what value you are adding. They have other subordinates – your colleagues – to evaluate, and as human beings we have limitations. They need your help to surface out what you have done.
3. If you don’t highlight your contributions well, the organization might accidentally “reward” the ones who are not deserving of good performance ratings, which is also a form of injustice/oppression. Consider the bell curve distribution: the organization/department/team has a quota on the number of high/average/low performers. When the actual high performers go lower, the non-performers go up! Highlighting your contributions is, in fact, fulfilling your part of the equation when it comes to justice (al-adl) to ensure that everyone’s performance is objectively evaluated.
But of course, it must be done within mindful limits: We still practice being “humble” in a sense that we do not do our performance writeup with arrogance, such as looking down on other colleagues, or in denying their contributions or collaborative efforts with us. Keep it honest, transparent and straight, without exaggerating, with clear justifications to back your claims.
It is also worth reminding ourselves that we shouldn’t do a half-hearted submission just because “we won’t get bonus anyway”, due to our business’ financial performance this year due to COVID-19. Performance appraisal isn’t just about our personal compensation. On an organizational scale, it is about managing and optimizing its most important resources: its people. And at an individual capacity, it is about fulfilling our responsibilities with justice and excellence (adl and ihsaan), because that is our amanah with Allah.
And when we’ve done our best, put our trust in Allah, knowing that whatever the outcome is for the best.
فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّـهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ
Then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allah, certainly, Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him). (Ali Imran 3:159)
All the best, everyone! BarakAllahu fikum
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