Time of the year...

Same time every year... some people happier than others, most complaining, half promises all over the place, and disillusion and dissatisfaction looming everywhere. It's times like this when management skills come to the test. While most people want to hear things they want to hear, I sincerely believe in straightforward outright honesty, letting people know what went wrong, what they want and how we can make things happen. We all try our best in our work, and i sincerely believe that, minus the few clowns, monsters and leeches, a majority of people do their own work and strive hard to meet milestones. The sad part is always when we, in the middle, do all we can to cater for the people under us, but those above us don't seem to bother what happens to us. It gets to the point that motivation in work is no longer something anyone has. And when everyone gets disillusioned and downed, higher ups look down and wonder what went wrong.
It's not rocket science, even a 3 year old can decipher who carried him more and spent more time changing his diapers. The key rule is to understand people's sentiments and practice empathy in knowing what are the concerns that people have. Knowing what people have in their past experience and have contributed throughout the year is fundamental, giving credit for work done to those that did the work (not those who steal work to report) and acknowledging their efforts is crucial, setting targets and telling people what they can do to achieve their aspirations is important. Rewarding people for their hard work and sweat and toil, instead of what they wear and how they look, and how much the superior loves their cute looks, is critical.
I guess in working life, fairness and objective assessment is not possible. The unrewarding gets rewarded most of the time, and those that tweak the bosses interest with their looks often get away with hell. Well, just this once, there was some fairness in those that were rewarded, but not enough to make people feel that enough has been done.