How to Perform a Self-Evaluation of Your Abilities

Admit It—Self-Evaluation Is Difficult

Often, the hardest task in considering performing a self-evaluation is to admit to yourself that it is a most difficult exercise. There are proven reasons for this common problem. Understanding these issues can help you immensely to improve this exercise. However, you must also realize that the reasons for the difficulty are not easy to accept.

Difficult reality number one: Most people typically over-estimate their true abilities and skills. Yes, this is the toughest fact to accept. But, think about it for a moment. Everyone “spins” their activities to display them in the most positive light.

An oft-quoted statement expresses this all-consuming tendency. “Success has many fathers, while failure is an orphan.” This comment is often used in the sports, business, and government worlds. All humans tend to “claim” credit for success and direct “blame” for failures on others.

Difficult reality number two: We tend to believe all of what others tell us. Wrong. Most people, in their efforts to be kind, tend to tell us what they believe we want to hear. The truth is seldom exactly what we hear. As hard as it is to accept, we would be better served if we heard what these same people said to others about us.

Difficult reality number three: People often don’t have access to the personal information needed to correctly evaluate themselves. This results in an inability to recognize problem issues or incompetence in ourselves. This is a classic “sad, but true” situation. It also tends to create a more dangerous situation: over-confidence in our abilities. While this condition may be positive in certain rare situations, it can be a career killer in most environments.

Accept these realities and implement some or all of the following tips to help you perform a meaningful and useful self-evaluation.

How to Perform a Self-Evaluation That Is Useful to You

• Try to get true feedback and opinions from your peers. Be aware that you may—or may not—embrace the information you learn. However, accept that this is reality. Don’t worry; it isn’t necessary that you formalize this suggestion. You can accomplish this component in an informal way by simply asking some trusted peers to be honest with you. No, you don’t need to ask that they be “brutally” honest, just offer some insight into how they perceive and interact with you.
• Use “benchmarking” to provide some self-evaluation information. Companies around the globe use benchmarking to assess their overall success level. You can use this technique to help you accomplish the same goal. Personal benchmarking involves the measurement of your performance as compared to the performance of others. For example, simply observe how your fellow workers respond to and manage different situations. Then compare the way you handle similar events. It’s time for another “be honest” moment. Assess your performance compared to your established benchmark to receive some real-time, real-world feedback about your ability. If the results are positive, take pride and continue to act similarly. Should you believe you had some shortcomings, you still win. You now know some areas of improvement that you can pursue.
• Self-test yourself constantly. This is easier than it may at first appear. Simply evaluate yourself when and after doing common tasks. Ask yourself, “How did I do?” “Did I perform the task correctly?” Then, ask for some outside input. Do your peers agree with your assessment? Along with the positives, seek out some shortcomings, if any.
• Evaluate your “subjective” areas. Sometimes the nuances of your persona, performance, and behavior are difficult to identify. However, these difficult-to-rate components are very important on a subconscious or intuitive level. Along with your personal reflections on your subliminal image, try to generate some outside opinions from others (family, friends, or peers). Self-evaluating your subjective areas is obviously not an exact science. Just be honest and objective.

A good self-evaluation is an effective tool for you to become aware of your strengths and shortcomings. The positive effect on your career can often be huge. Learning what you do well and improving on your strengths, while creating the ability to understand your weaknesses to take corrective action, can generate significant upgrades in your performance and image.

Now you are aware why this is a challenging process and have some tips to help you make a solid self-evaluation. Use this knowledge to paint a graphic picture of your current status. Although the total picture may not be as wonderful as you had originally hoped, you now have some excellent tools and information to help you improve and prosper.