No matter how clearly you define the criteria and the metrics, somebody has to apply the criteria to a person’s performance, and that involves making judgments. If advice is autobiographical, so is evaluation. The evaluation we give people is a reflection of our own (or our organization’s) preferences, assumptions, values, and goals. They might be broadly shared or idiosyncratic, but either way, they are ours. And that’s as it should be. People who are skilled coaches or evaluators are valuable precisely because their gifts of judgment are strong. An iPhone app can tell a singer if she’s
...more
