A fact I have never disclosed in this blog is that I am a U.S. federal government employee. The agency that employs me\u00a0requires us\u00a0to produce employee reviews once a year. I think this is pretty standard practice in most businesses and other sorts of organizations that hire people and pay them a wage for doing some sort of work. In my agency, these reviews\u00a0have evolved over the years to becoming very carefully worded works of art, accurate and factual to be sure, but highly stylized with essential words and perspectives and voices used just so, carefully constructed to put employees in an advantageous position for promotion. Not\u00a0long ago I decided to write a review of my work from the perspective of a supervisor in verse. I wrote it to carefully cover all the professional goals\u00a0(we call them precepts) toward which we are supposed to strive. This review includes a few references unique to\u00a0my workplace, but I think most of it\u00a0is universal to all mid-level officials, enough, at least, to make sense to anybody who has held\u00a0a similar sort of job, public or private sector.<\/p>\n
Employee Review in Verse<\/p>\n
Argyle\u00a0is a useful bloke,
\ndoes all his tasks, he ain’t no joke.
\nAn officer from head to toe,
\nwhen I say jump he starts to go.<\/p>\n
Completely fair in all his dealings,
\nbut circumspect with his own feelings.
\nSurrounds himself with folk, diverse,
\nwith anyone he will converse.<\/p>\n
Leadership is his main theme,
\nall follow him as in a dream.
\nHe manages well within his group,
\nturns folks into a well-oiled troop.<\/p>\n
Evaluates, counsels, conducts some training,
\namong\u00a0Argyle\u2019s staff there\u2019s no complaining.
\nDelegates a lot of work,
\nyet labors\u00a0hard, he doesn\u2019t shirk.<\/p>\n
Develops insights, creates solutions,
\nhis work deserves no diminution.
\nMakes reasoned, effective, timely decisions,
\nviews hastiness with mild derision.<\/p>\n
Finishes projects: timely and cheap.
\nComplaints from Argyle? Not a peep.
\nCommunicates his expectations,
\nto his staff he\u2019s Mr. Human Relations.<\/p>\n
He writes with ease he is so clever,
\nthe smoothest docs that you’ve seen, ever.
\nAttends to all security matters
\nand yet he\u2019s deaf to idle flatter.<\/p>\n
Rough and ready when trouble arises,
\nthis guy is brilliant in a crisis.
\nMaintains a calm and cool fa\u00e7ade,
\ndoesn\u2019t crumble (ain\u2019t that odd?)<\/p>\n
He will adapt, he manages change,
\neven when what\u2019s new is strange.
\nHe deals with others aspirations
\nand maintains useful, good relations.<\/p>\n
Influences others, oh he\u2019s so deft.
\nHesitation? \u00a0Doubt? Of these he\u2019s bereft.
\nCultivates contacts, a natural born host,
\nHe piles it on high when it matters the most.<\/p>\n
He speaks, he listens, proclaims the good news,
\nwith USG policies, he’s so enthused.
\nHe knows how to think, gather key information
\nand puts it together like the chief of the nation.<\/p>\n
So really I\u2019d like this idea to float,
\nArgyle’s\u00a0so great, it\u2019s time to promote.
\nHis thinking is keen, his service, essential
\nhe\u2019s great, a big hunk of walking potential.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A fact I have never disclosed in this blog is that I am a U.S. federal government employee. The agency that employs me\u00a0requires us\u00a0to produce employee reviews once a year. I think this is pretty standard practice in most businesses … Continue reading