Use this concept as a question to test the decision, not as a label for a person.
Open →Decision situation
Performance review
Judge performance without letting one recent result or known outcome rewrite the quality of the underlying work.
Signals to notice
Reasons to slow down and check.
- The latest success or failure dominates the review.
- A good outcome is being used as proof that the process was good.
- Examples are chosen after the overall rating is already preferred.
Questions before action
Make the missing evidence visible.
- What evidence covers the full review period?
- How good was the process before the outcome was known?
- What evidence would support a different rating?
Relevant lenses
Concepts that may help you test the reasoning.
Practical moves
Do something different, not only notice a label.
Preserve what was known, expected and uncertain before the outcome changes memory.
Open →Force a preferred explanation to compete with a credible alternative.
Open →Fix the comparison dimensions before a preferred option makes the criteria move.
Open →Skill to develop
Metacognition
You can review your reasoning process without confusing confidence, outcome and hindsight with decision quality.
Practice this situation
Choose a useful first move.
An employee had one difficult final quarter. The annual review now focuses almost entirely on that period and gives little weight to earlier results.
Skill: MetacognitionOpen scenario →A manager skipped required checks but the project succeeded. The review treats the success as proof that the manager’s approach was excellent.
Skill: MetacognitionOpen scenario →