Have you ever experienced a SM/M give negative feedback at because of something beyond your control, like you didn’t have bandwidth to support them 100% but supported hours as much as you could yet they held it against you. Or some anecdotal (non-performance) based review which your coach told you about? I don’t mean to sound paranoid but I do feel egos exist in our organization and during performance reviews exert “power”. Please offer views/stories if in support or contrary to this opinion.

I once got dinged on my project performance review because I had asked my SM to let me expense a local apartment rental that was about 10% more than the hotel, and showed him (politely) that I didn’t like the fact that he turned down the request.

I can’t remember the exact wording but it was clear that was what he was referring to, but he had written it in such a way that it sounded like it was related to my project work.

Another time, I was begged to rejoin a project for a new phase, the client loved the work so much that they asked our firm to do similar work on almost all of their project portfolios globally, and when I got reviewed the guy gave me a low rating and it sounded like I did a barely passable job. Total backstab.

I’ve learned throughout my career in consulting that a big secret to long term success is to identify and remember who NOT to work for. Warn your network to help protect them, and heed their warnings in return.

Someone in my network who I warned about a certain partner did still work for him (probably had no way to back out), but months later told me I saved his ass with that warning because it allowed him to prepare and avoid most of the issues instead of being blindsided.

When I first started as an analyst, I received feedback from a manager (let’s call her Tal) saying that I was “unfocused” and that I didn’t understand what my role was. I really tried to work with her but she would give me vague instructions and even when I followed up asking questions, she wouldn’t answer me properly. However when the final deliverable was due, she reviewed it and criticized me for things that I asked her about. (Mind you this was my first ever project). Tal was very dismissive and only criticized my work but never explained how I could improve. She wrote a negative performance evaluation and I thought this would negatively impact my career in the company (my heart stopped when I read the feedback). Luckily, my CC was very understanding and talked me through the feedback and actually took time to understand my point of view and he didn’t hold it against me. I was able to prove my value with other managers on other engagements who supported me during the promotion cycles. Fast forward 5 years, I’m now a manager and Tal is also still a manager (Her feedback literally said she didn’t think I would go far in this company). Looking back, I think she was just looking for reasons to put me down and it didn’t have anything to do with me personally.

If you have any issues with your manager/SM in your project, raise it with your CC or other leadership you can talk to. They can give you advice. Maybe this person has a history of doing that/putting people down (not every manager is a leader) and raising it could help you and other people in your position.

Yup. When I was a new hire C at Deloitte way back in the day, I was doing QA on a project as one of a team of 7-8 Cs. Two of my grandparents got seriously ill and passed away during the 6 months I was on that engagement and I took time off for both.

Even with the time off, I still crushed it and completed ~25% more tests than the others on my team and was the only person who didn't have a single test need to be redone during peer review.

My project review was that there was a perception that I wasn't dependable and couldn't be counted on to complete my work. The M and SM didn't say so outright, but I read between the lines and figured they were talking about my PTO and bereavement leave around my grandparents, never mind my actual job performance.

Yes happened with me. On my first project, I was put in extremely ambiguous situations and when I asked for directions from my Manager, I was told that I don't know how to do my job. As a Consultant, I was expected to pushback to the client, review requirements and lead the team(basically do the manager's job). At this point, I was working 12-14 hour days and devoting my life to the success of my first project. She was encouraged my the SM on the team and the MD was voiceless.

The client saw my efforts and appreciated it so much that he wrote to the partner to let him know the good work I was putting in but come year end, this manager gave me bottom ratings which seriously impacted my confidence.

I have other Ms/SMs willing to couch for me but this experience was absolutely pathetic. It's one of the main reasons I will be quitting the firm the first chance I get.

Where do I start.. this is my life

I've seen it. Some people just want to feel like their work/project is your top priority, unfortunately. If they don't feel the love, they will give you a bad review. I will say that I've only seen it once in +3 years

yup. When I started I was getting my evening MBA. During the day, I told the SM that I had bandwidth until a certain time cause I had class. She said she didn’t need help. I go to class, she calls twice I don’t answer. I reach out to her after class and she said she’s needs assistance on a deck. Keep in mind this was a Friday evening around 10pm. I tell her I had bandwidth before but now I don’t and that going forward we need to communicate better so I can support the SM better. I did not mean any offense I literally just wanted to set a boundary where the expectation isn’t that I’d be working weekends or during class. Got rolled off the project the next day.

Ignore the power politics, gaslighting and focus on your contributions and what's within your control. Own your own narrative and take most performance review feedback with a grain of salt. Don't accept vague comments. Request concrete examples that are actionable. If they can't provide it they're full of shit. I've had these types of reviews for most of my professional life. It's all BS. I'm still alive, still getting ahead and surviving.

Too many PMs talk out of both sides of their mouth.

Yup. Showed up in my feedback during my promotion year to manager. Had to do a lot of damage control and sending of saved emails behind the scenes.

Yes. I was in HC but working on the project for a tech partner, reporting directly into him, and we had a great relationship - my desk was right next to the guy. The HC partner on the account was “walking the halls” one day and pulled me aside to give me some feedback he said he heard from the tech partner about me - something about not being clear enough on status. I was shocked and a little hurt - I asked why the tech partner hadn’t just communicated it directly to me. The HC partner looked me dead in the eye and said, “because he’s a partner and doesn’t have to.”

I circled back with the tech partner to apologize and outline a plan... he hadn’t said any such thing - and even praised me for how well he thought I communicated with him. The HC guy was lying... total power play.

I’ve had a similar experience at my previous company and I had to leave the project because of it (for my own sake). I hope it turns out better for you!

I got negative feedback because I mentioned that traffic on the way to the client sucked. Went from M to SM to MD.

I agree with most comments here, I've experienced some myself. More recently, I gave the same 'unreliable' feedback to someone on my team when he took time off for a personal life event - without prior notice, (I found out via email on a Friday that he would be off all of next week) without identifying a back up, not exhibiting any signs of ownership for a critical deliverable that was due during the time he has to be off. I don't know if the life event was planned or unexpected but how you communicate it makes a difference.

Just offering a perspective of what's considered unreliable - it's not the PTO, it's the ownership.

My intent is not to ask you to provide higher priority, but communicate right. Yes we all have family emergencies, we don't abandon work. We communicate our unavailability responsibly- 'hey, I am on PTO next week' isn't right. Offer context.

Say - hey emergency PTO, will be unreachable, abc will cover for me/ didn't have time to identify a back up/ here's the latest draft I have on xyz, sorry I won't be able to progress next week.

Not in 1 email but maybe in a later email when you catch a breath - that's being a team player, otherwise you're just putting your entire team in trouble. Do we have to recreate whatever you had been working on it guess what progress there was, how do we identify a mitigation approach? Do we all abandon that deliverable because you had an emergency?

Yes. Every damn cycle. And what’s worse is we don’t get a chance to defend what is being said about us, unless we have a good DGL. I’ve had two good DGLs, I’ve had almost as many DGLs as I have years at the firm. Since there is a lack of defense in reviews, the process turns into a popularity contest.

This happened to me and I ended up burning out. I interviewed and planned to leave the firm but ended up staying because they offered me everything I asked for.

In retrospect I would have confided in and communicated the situation early (much earlier) to my supporters/mentors and career counselor - before it had gotten bad and just spiraled like it did. Most would be surprised all that is able to be done if you are a high performer with a solid tracked record who just genuinely got caught in a tough spot (for me it was “splitting” my time across 2 projects with leads who full time expectations).

So I recommend you let in a mentor or your formal career counselor before it creeps into your performance reviews and worse yet - hits your mental and physical health attempting to keep up a non-sustainable situation.

Yep. Left ACN immediately after this SM tried to sabotage my promotion (I still got it), calling me “unmotivated” and “unreliable” - when I was the highest performer on the team and had a higher bill rate than any of my peers. Consulting is full of power hungry leaders who will do anything to further themselves. Quit and joined a FANG company, more than doubled my salary for 30% fewer hours, never looking back to that BS.

In my view, these traits really helpful. Building trust is an underrated topic and critical for any relationship. It can change the whole thing..

C/SC:

- Ownership - Think like you are MD/SM/M
- Transparent & Communicate
- Deliver on time with quality
- Humble & ready for any feedback
- Respect the work / plan
- When it’s a NO, say NO (Nicely 😉)
- Build Trust

M/SM/PPMD:

- Set the expectations
- Humble & Respect the team
- Build a plan working closely with team
- Show the big picture
- Provide honest feedback
- Delegate but verify and still be accountable
- Build trust by showing genuine interest in the growth of your team

The SM on one of my projects straight up denied doing my snapshots for a project I was working 12+ hours everyday. When asked for feedback she just denied my requests. This was someone I looked up to and as an young consultant it did impact my morale a lot.

Culture shit