[Verse 1] Every year they gather 'round the conference table Forms and scoring sheets, they say it makes us able To measure who's performing, who's falling behind But it's just a ritual dance, wasting our time The feedback comes too late, six months after the fact When the moment's long forgotten, there's no impact [Chorus] Performance reviews are just a show Annual theater that's got to go Forced rankings break the team apart While vague criteria miss the mark HR's ritual takes center stage Consuming time, producing rage It's not about performance, can't you see? It's just bureaucracy [Verse 2] Stack ranking puts us fighting against our own Top ten percent get rewards, bottom ten get shown The door, but collaboration dies along the way When teammates become rivals every single day "Demonstrates leadership" - what does that even mean? It's subjective scoring in a broken machine [Chorus] Performance reviews are just a show Annual theater that's got to go Forced rankings break the team apart While vague criteria miss the mark HR's ritual takes center stage Consuming time, producing rage It's not about performance, can't you see? It's just bureaucracy [Bridge] Managers game the system, protect their favorite few Or settle old scores when the reviews come due Research shows the correlation is disturbingly weak Between the scores we give and performance we seek But HR won't replace it, they need to justify Their headcount and their budget, that's the reason why [Verse 3] Real performance happens day by day In the moments when we work, not in what forms say Continuous feedback, coaching in real time That's what builds great teams, not this pantomime The ritual consumes us, hours every year For a broken system that makes nothing clear [Final Chorus] Performance reviews are just a show Annual theater that's got to go Forced rankings break the team apart While vague criteria miss the mark HR's ritual takes center stage Consuming time, producing rage It's not about performance, can't you see? It's just bureaucracy [Outro] Time to break the ritual chain And focus on what brings real gain Daily coaching, constant care That's performance management done with flair
← 7 — Change Resistance Disguised as Process | 3 — The Compliance Trap →