To be honest, I think an informed and productive performance review is right up there with hitting a hole in one. Not to say that it couldn’t happen – and certainly it does happen from time to time – but it’s a rare occurrence, which makes most of the reviews given equal parts depressing and disappointing.

In light of that sad truth, often times a performance review becomes a game of passive-aggressive political maneuvering in which your supervisor might try to perpetuate a personal agenda or simply use it as a time to vent while veiling their comments as constructive criticism. But neither of these scenarios are what a true review should be and it’s important to be able to separate the truth from the BS.

Below are some examples of behavior to watch out for and if any of this sounds familiar, take heart, and also take this “feedback” with a grain of salt (or maybe a handful).

The “Personal Agenda” Review
Unfortunately if you have a difficult boss then you’re probably already prepared for a performance review that will be a less than pleasant experience. The challenges faced working with them on a daily basis will likely only be highlighted during that conversation, but at least if you are aware of that in advance you can prepare yourself and be ready to handle it professionally.

They may say things to undermine your confidence or focus more on mistakes versus successes and in the past, I’ve been guilty of letting negative comments like these affect my self-esteem. Even worse, it caused arguments with people in my personal life because I allowed it to eat away at me and undermine my goals and behavior. But what I realized later, and want to share with you now, is after getting some perspective on what had was said I was able to separate the fact from the fiction.

In my case, the feedback came from a boss who was extremely controlling, insecure about their own abilities and narrow-mindedly ambitious. In other words, this person was never going to let anyone else shine too brightly for fear that it would hurt their standing.

None of these are traits of a good leader.

Once I took these other factors into account, I realized that the comments made were to support the personal agenda of this boss. Not factual comments based on a true assessment of my skills and contributions. So while it’s hurtful when someone says negative (or even untrue) things, remember to keep things in perspective. You know the work you’ve done and how much effort you’ve put into it. Also keeping a list of the things you do, especially new projects or additional tasks you take on, as this will help you not only show growth in the role but validate your contributions to the team. Think of it as an ever-evolving job description and make sure to continually update this list with your accomplishments!

The “Venting” Review
There are also times when a boss may decide to use your review time as an opportunity to get a few things off their chest, which is unfortunate.

But is that is the case, here are a couple things to look out for:

Negative feedback, without examples:
Right off the bat this should raise a red flag because if something needs to be corrected, then logically at some point you would have done something incorrectly. As an example, let’s say it’s how you communicate with senior leaders. If that really was an issue, then there would be an email or some communication vehicle available to review and improve upon. But is this is said as a blanket statement without any specifics, be wary, and ask for an example!

Negative feedback, from something that happened (weeks/months) ago:
This is another example of shady, not to mention extremely unprofessional, behavior. First off, if you did something that was seen by your boss or others as not being handled correctly, why wait to bring it up? Especially if it’s a repetitive task or something that visible represents your department. If that’s the case, it should have been addressed immediately so you could learn from your mistake and correct it.

Bringing it up later shows not only lack of leadership, but also lack of importance. In this instance I think it would be fair to say, professionally of course, “I was unaware that ______ was not being handled properly. Moving forward, please inform me sooner so I can make any needed corrections.”

All in all, your review will come down to the communication style of your boss, the working relationship you share and (hopefully) a fair assessment of your work. But the most important thing to remember is to evaluate what is said versus what you know you’re bringing to the table and determine where they intersect. After all, no one is perfect and insights from others can serve as growth moments to help you continue improving and moving forward with your career.

Just be sure to evaluate what’s said, ask for second opinions and make sure you don’t allow someone to throw you off course with unnecessary criticisms that are not designed to help you improve.