The Complete Guide to Manager Performance Reviews

Last Updated on August 25, 2026 by Status.net Editorial Team

• What Makes Manager Reviews Different Part 1
• Writing a Performance Review for a Manager (As Their Boss) Part 2
• Manager Competencies to Evaluate Part 3
• Manager Performance Rating Scale Examples Part 4
• Management Strengths and Weaknesses Part 5
• Reviewing Different Types of Managers and Supervisors Part 6
• Writing a Review of Your Manager (As Their Direct Report) Part 7
• How to Evaluate Your Manager’s Performance Part 8
• Performance Goals for Managers and Leaders Part 9
• Manager Review Templates Part 10
• Performance Review Tips for Managers and Reviewers Part 11
• Common Mistakes in Manager Reviews Part 12

Manager performance reviews are two conversations. In one direction, a senior leader writes a review of a manager they oversee. In the other, a direct report shares feedback about a manager they work for.

This complete guide walks through both directions. You will find what makes manager reviews different, how to evaluate the competencies that matter most, templates for the most common review types, and example phrases you can adapt for every rating and tone. Read it top to bottom for the full picture, or jump to the section you need right now.

If you have not yet, start with our complete guide “Performance Reviews: The Complete Guide.”

Part 1What Makes Manager Reviews Different

Manager reviews look similar to individual contributor reviews on the surface. They cover accomplishments, strengths, growth areas, goals, and a summary. The difference sits in the substance of each section, and in the way the writer has to reason about a very different kind of work.

Three characteristics set manager reviews apart.

The leverage effect. A manager’s work travels through other people. A strong manager’s year shows up in their team’s results, in the growth of their direct reports, and in the culture the group is building. A struggling manager’s year shows up in the same places, only in reverse. Because a manager touches many outcomes indirectly, small differences in how they lead often produce large differences in what the team produces.

The visibility problem. Individual contributors produce output that is usually visible to the manager reviewing them. Managers, by contrast, produce outputs that are harder to see from above. A strong 1:1 leaves no artifact. A well-handled conflict rarely gets escalated. An act of coaching handled without fanfare shows up months later in a direct report’s promotion, with no obvious paper trail. The writer of a manager review has to work harder to gather the evidence.

Multiple stakeholder feedback. A well-written manager review draws on more than the perspective of the writer. It usually includes signals from the manager’s direct reports (through upward feedback or a 360), from their peers (through cross-functional collaboration signals), and from their own manager (the writer). Synthesizing these three perspectives is much of the writing work. The strongest manager reviews weave the three inputs into one coherent picture, rather than treating them as separate accounts.

One note on terminology: throughout this guide, the words manager, supervisor, and team leader describe people who lead a team, and the core evaluation approach applies across all three titles. Later sections cover the specific adjustments worth making for supervisors, store and general managers, and managers who oversee other managers.

Part 2Writing a Performance Review for a Manager (As Their Boss)

Writing a review for a manager you oversee calls for a different lens than the one you would use for an individual contributor. The question shifts from “What did this person do?” to “What did this person’s team accomplish, and what did this person do to make that possible?”

A strong manager review usually covers three broad areas.

People Leadership

This is often the most important area of the review, and often the hardest to capture in writing. Look for signals across several dimensions: the growth of the manager’s direct reports, the strength of their hiring, the health of their team’s engagement, the way they handle conflict, and the quality of the feedback they give.

Example people-leadership phrases:

• Sarah has built one of the strongest management practices on the leadership team, evidenced by two direct reports promoted this year and a team engagement score in the top decile across the company.
• Michael has demonstrated a steady, consistent approach to developing his team, with each of his four direct reports reporting meaningful growth against their stated development goals.
• Priya’s 1:1 practice has become a benchmark within the leadership group, with her reports consistently citing the value of her weekly feedback and her willingness to hold hard conversations with care.
• James has raised the bar for hiring within the team, sourcing and closing two senior candidates this year who have already had significant positive impact on the group’s output.
• Diego’s team retention has been the strongest across the department, with no regretted attrition during the review period and clear signals of engagement in the annual survey.
• Yuki has demonstrated significant growth in the way she handles performance concerns, initiating two clear improvement conversations this year and following through with the documentation and support required.
• Mia’s coaching has been especially strong for her senior individual contributors, three of whom have taken on stretch scope this year without additional formal responsibility.
• Rob has established a clear, consistent feedback culture across the team, with weekly written check-ins that his reports have described as one of the most valuable rituals of their workweek.

Business Impact

Team results are the second major area. The manager’s effectiveness usually shows up here, both in the outcomes the team delivered and in the way those outcomes compared to plan.

Example business-impact phrases:

• Under Sarah’s leadership, the Customer Success team delivered a 14-point lift in enterprise retention, well above the stated cycle target of 8 points.
• Michael’s team shipped every one of its four planned initiatives on time this year, including the platform migration, which came in two weeks ahead of schedule.
• Priya’s team drove the successful launch of the new pricing model, contributing to a projected 6 percent lift in annual recurring revenue.
• James’s team delivered against every core commitment this year, with especially strong outcomes in the Q3 enterprise expansion, which added $1.4 million in new bookings.
• Diego’s operations group reduced onboarding time from 42 days to 28 days across enterprise clients, a change directly linked to the team’s Q3 renewal performance.
• Yuki’s team met or exceeded every key performance target during the review period, with particular strength in reducing average incident resolution time by 38 percent.

Strategic Contribution

This area captures how the manager shows up beyond the boundaries of their team. It covers their contribution to cross-functional work, their influence in leadership conversations, and the way they represent their function upward.

Example strategic-contribution phrases:

• Sarah has become an influential voice in the leadership team, with her written strategy memos consistently shaping how the group thinks about retention and expansion.
• Michael has established strong cross-functional partnerships with product and engineering, and his contributions to the quarterly planning process have raised the quality of the broader roadmap.
• Priya has represented the function with clarity and steadiness in every executive review this year, and her narrative framing has been especially useful during the recent board conversations.
• James has taken on informal leadership across the management group, most visibly through the mentoring he has offered to two newer managers on the team.
• Diego’s strategic framing of the enterprise segment during the annual planning cycle helped shape the company’s stated priorities for the coming year.

Template

[Manager] has had a [tone] cycle as [role]. Under their leadership, the team delivered [team result]. They developed [named team members or growth outcomes]. Their strongest leadership strength this year was [strength], shown in [example], and the area with the most room to grow is [growth area].

Example

Sarah has had a strong cycle as Director of Customer Success. Under her leadership, the team delivered a 14-point lift in enterprise retention and shipped the new health-score model two weeks ahead of schedule. She developed two direct reports into senior lead roles and hired two strong senior contributors during the year. Her strongest leadership strength this year was calm, clear feedback in difficult conversations, shown in the way she handled a mid-year performance concern with grace and rigor, and the area with the most room to grow is representing the function in board-level conversations with the same confidence she brings internally.

For more, see “300 Examples & Templates for Manager Performance Review,”
“How To Write a Manager Performance Review?,”
“130 Example Phrases for Manager Evaluations (Performance Assessments),”
“120 Performance Review Phrase Examples for Managers,”
and “100 Performance Review Phrases for Managers (Situational Examples).”

Part 3Manager Competencies to Evaluate

The specific competencies vary by company, though most manager frameworks include a similar core. Below is a walk through the eight most common ones, with what strong performance looks like in each area, common pitfalls in evaluating it, and example phrases you can adapt.

People Management

The foundation of management. This competency captures the day-to-day work of running a team: setting expectations, holding 1:1s, managing performance, giving feedback, handling conflict, and building trust.

The strongest signal of strong people management is often the growth of the manager’s direct reports. A team where multiple people are stretching, learning, and ready for the next step usually reflects strong management underneath. A team where people are stagnant or disengaged without saying so usually reflects the opposite.

A common pitfall in evaluating this area is confusing likability with effectiveness. A well-liked manager who avoids hard conversations is often less effective than a slightly firmer manager whose reports trust the honest feedback they receive.

Example phrases:

• Consistently holds high-quality 1:1s with every direct report, and follows through on the commitments made in each conversation.
• Demonstrates the calm and steadiness the team needs during periods of change or uncertainty.
• Has built a strong feedback culture within the team, with reports consistently reporting the value of weekly written updates.
• Handles performance concerns with rigor and care, initiating clear conversations early rather than letting concerns compound.
• Continues to develop the ability to hold hard conversations directly and in real time.
• Has room to grow in giving more specific, behavior-anchored feedback rather than general encouragement.

Coaching and Development

Distinct from day-to-day people management, this competency captures the manager’s ability to grow the people on their team. Look for signals like promotions, expanded scope for direct reports, cross-functional stretch assignments, and the quality of the development plans the manager writes.

The strongest coaches often work without much fanfare. Their reports learn and stretch without dramatic set-piece conversations. A useful evaluation signal is to ask each direct report what specifically they have learned from their manager in the past year. Clear, specific answers are a strong signal. Vague answers suggest the coaching may not yet be landing.

Example phrases:

• Two of Sarah’s four direct reports were promoted this year, both to positions with meaningfully expanded scope.
• Michael’s coaching has been especially strong for his senior individual contributors, three of whom have taken on stretch responsibilities beyond their formal role.
• Priya writes clear, actionable development plans with each of her reports, and revisits them in a structured way every quarter.
• Continues to build the practice of coaching in the moment, rather than reserving developmental feedback for formal reviews.
• Has room to grow in creating deliberate stretch opportunities for team members who are ready for greater scope.

Decision Making

Managers make many decisions each week, and the quality of those decisions shapes the team’s effectiveness. Look for signals across three dimensions: the speed of decisions, the quality of the reasoning behind them, and the willingness to revisit decisions when new information arrives.

A pitfall in evaluating this area is overweighting the decisions that turned out well. Some strong decisions produce poor outcomes because of factors outside the manager’s control, and some poor decisions produce good outcomes for the same reason. The stronger evaluation focuses on the quality of the reasoning at the time.

Example phrases:

• Consistently makes clear, well-reasoned decisions with the information available at the time.
• Demonstrates the willingness to revisit decisions when new evidence emerges, and communicates the change clearly to the team.
• Balances speed and rigor effectively, and rarely allows small decisions to stall for lack of information.
• Continues to develop the practice of documenting significant decisions and the reasoning behind them.
• Has room to grow in surfacing decisions to peers and stakeholders before finalizing them, particularly on cross-functional questions.

Communication

Manager-level communication carries more weight than IC-level communication, because the manager is often speaking on behalf of the team, the function, or the leadership group. Look for signals in three areas: the clarity of written updates upward, the quality of the messaging downward to the team, and the effectiveness of communication laterally across peers.

Example phrases:

• Sends clear, timely written updates to leadership on the progress of the team’s key initiatives.
• Communicates changes in direction to the team in a way that maintains steadiness and trust.
• Consistently represents the function in cross-team conversations with clarity and calm.
• Has developed a strong practice of sharing written summaries after every major decision or meeting.
• Continues to build the ability to speak with the same clarity in real-time discussions as in written communication.

Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinking becomes increasingly important as a manager’s scope grows. Look for signals in how the manager frames the team’s work, how they connect their function to broader company priorities, and how they help the group prioritize under real constraints.

A pitfall in this area is confusing strategic language with strategic thinking. A manager who speaks fluently about strategy without actually shaping the team’s direction adds less value than a less vocal manager whose decisions consistently move the group toward the right work.

Example phrases:

• Consistently frames the team’s work in the context of broader company priorities.
• Has demonstrated growing strategic depth, evidenced by the annual planning memo that shaped how leadership thinks about the enterprise segment.
• Helps the team prioritize effectively under real constraints, and is willing to say no to the wrong work.
• Continues to develop the practice of articulating the team’s two-year direction with clarity.
• Has room to grow in translating strategic ambition into a clear operating plan.

Business Judgment

This competency covers the manager’s ability to reason about the business as a whole: cost, revenue, risk, and the trade-offs among them. It becomes more central as managers grow into roles with real budget or revenue responsibility.

Example phrases:

• Demonstrates strong business judgment in weighing cost, revenue, and risk during resource decisions.
• Has shown a growing ability to identify the two or three initiatives most likely to shape the business, and to protect the team’s focus around them.
• Manages the team’s budget with rigor, delivering on stated commitments while remaining flexible under changing conditions.
• Continues to develop the practice of surfacing business trade-offs clearly to leadership before making resource decisions.
• Has room to grow in reasoning about the long-term financial implications of significant investments.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Managers spend much of their time working across teams. Look for signals in the strength of their partnerships with peer managers, the quality of the handoffs between their team and others, and the way they represent their function in shared decisions.

Example phrases:

• Has built strong working relationships with peers across product, engineering, and marketing.
• Ensures clean handoffs between the team and adjacent groups, with clear ownership on every shared initiative.
• Represents the function with clarity in cross-functional planning conversations, and advocates for the team’s priorities without creating friction.
• Continues to develop the practice of investing in cross-functional relationships during calmer periods, before they are needed in crises.
• Has room to grow in influencing peer functions on decisions that affect the team’s ability to deliver.

Hiring and Retention

The strength of the team a manager builds is one of the most important signals of their long-term effectiveness. Look for the quality of the hires the manager has made, the retention of the strongest team members, and the way they handle departures.

Example phrases:

• Has demonstrated strong hiring judgment, closing two senior candidates this year who have already contributed significantly to the team’s output.
• Retention across the team has been especially strong during the review period, with no regretted attrition and clear engagement signals in the annual survey.
• Handles departures with care and professionalism, and uses each transition as an opportunity to strengthen the team.
• Continues to invest deliberately in the pipeline of future team members, even during periods without open roles.
• Has room to grow in moving more quickly when performance concerns warrant a difficult decision.

Part 4Manager Performance Rating Scale Examples

Most performance systems ask the reviewer to translate all of that narrative evidence into a single rating. For managers, that translation is harder than it looks, because a rating has to account for the team’s results and the manager’s leadership behavior at the same time. A manager who delivers strong numbers while burning out their team should not receive the same rating as a manager who delivers the same numbers while building a team that wants to stay.

Most companies use a four- or five-point scale. The labels vary by organization, though the general shape is consistent: an outstanding tier, a strong tier, a solid “meets expectations” tier, and one or two tiers for performance that needs improvement.

What Each Rating Level Looks Like for a Manager

• Outstanding / Exceptional: The team delivered results well above target, and the manager’s leadership was a clear driver of that outcome. Direct reports are growing, retention is strong, and peers cite the manager as a model of the behaviors the company wants to see. Example: “Sarah’s team exceeded every core target this year, and two of her four direct reports were promoted, a clear sign that her leadership is building lasting capability alongside strong short-term output.”
• Exceeds Expectations: The team performed above plan in most areas, and the manager showed consistent strength in one or two leadership dimensions beyond the baseline. Example: “Michael’s team hit every planned milestone this year, and his coaching of two newer team members has visibly accelerated their growth.”
• Meets Expectations: The team delivered against its commitments, and the manager demonstrated solid, dependable leadership across the core competencies, without major gaps. Example: “Priya’s team met its targets for the year, and her 1:1 practice and feedback habits remain consistent and reliable.”
• Needs Improvement: The team missed important commitments, or the manager showed a pattern of gaps in a core leadership competency, such as avoiding hard conversations or under-investing in coaching. Example: “James’s team missed two of its three quarterly targets, and turnover on the team has been higher than the department average, suggesting the coaching and retention work needs more focused attention.”
• Unsatisfactory: The team’s results fell significantly short, and the shortfall connects to leadership decisions or behaviors the manager controlled. This rating is rare and should always be paired with a clear improvement plan and a documented history of the concerns.

Calibrating Manager Ratings Across a Leadership Team

Individual manager ratings mean little without calibration against peers. Most organizations hold a calibration session before ratings are finalized, where senior leaders compare notes across the group of managers they oversee. This step matters more for managers than for individual contributors, because managers are harder to compare directly. Two managers can both report “strong results,” yet one team may have been carrying far more difficulty than the other.

A few practices make calibration sessions more productive:

• Come with two or three specific examples for each manager, not just an overall impression.
• Separate the discussion of team results from the discussion of leadership behavior, so a strong quarter does not paper over a coaching gap.
• Ask each leader in the room to name where their own manager ratings might be inflated by personal fondness or recency.
• Revisit the ratings a week later with fresh eyes before they are finalized, especially for anyone near a rating boundary.

Part 5Management Strengths and Weaknesses

A well-written manager review usually names two or three strengths and one or two growth areas. The choice matters. Strengths that describe generic leadership qualities carry less weight than strengths tied to specific behaviors and outcomes the manager has demonstrated during the review period.

Example management strengths:

• Calm, clear feedback in difficult conversations, demonstrated across three separate performance situations this year.
• Consistent development of direct reports, evidenced by two promotions during the review period.
• Strong hiring judgment, particularly at the senior individual contributor level.
• Cross-functional trust, with peer managers across three departments citing her partnership as one of the most valuable in the leadership group.
• Steadiness during periods of change, most visibly during the recent reorganization.
• Strategic clarity, shown in the annual planning memo that shaped the team’s direction for the year.
• Written communication with leadership, described as one of the clearest in the executive team.
• Willingness to make and defend difficult calls, including two significant scope decisions this year.

Example management growth areas:

• Continued development of delegation practices in high-stakes projects, where the manager has historically taken on more of the coordination than the role requires.
• Room to grow in giving more direct written feedback to peer managers on cross-functional issues.
• Continued development of executive presence in board-level and senior-leadership conversations.
• Room to grow in translating strategic ambition into a clear, sequenced operating plan.
• Continued development of the practice of moving more quickly on performance concerns when patterns become clear.
• Room to grow in stepping back from operational detail as the team scope has grown.

Additional example manager weaknesses phrased directly:

• Tends to over-centralize decisions, which slows the team down when the manager is unavailable.
• Avoids delivering critical feedback in real time, allowing small performance issues to accumulate before addressing them.
• Struggles to say no to new requests from other departments, which has led to scope creep for the team.
• Provides recognition inconsistently, which has left some team members feeling their contributions go unnoticed.
• Relies heavily on a small subset of the team for high-visibility work, limiting growth opportunities for others.

For more, see “280 Examples: Management Strengths and Weaknesses.”

Part 6Reviewing Different Types of Managers and Supervisors

The core principles of a manager review apply broadly, though the weight given to each competency shifts depending on the role. A supervisor running a shift on a warehouse floor is evaluated on different priorities than a general manager running a full retail location or a director managing a team of managers. Adjusting the emphasis, while keeping the same evidence-based approach, produces a review that feels accurate to the actual job.

Supervisor and Team Leader Reviews

Supervisors and team leaders often sit closest to the daily work, with less strategic scope than a manager but real responsibility for coaching, scheduling, and quality on the ground. A supervisor review should weigh:

• Consistency in coaching frontline staff during the shift or work session, not only in scheduled check-ins.
• Fairness and clarity in scheduling, assignment of tasks, and handling of time-off requests.
• Speed and judgment in resolving day-to-day problems without needing to escalate every issue upward.
• Modeling of the standards expected of the team, especially around quality and customer interaction.

Example phrase: “As shift supervisor, Alex has kept the team’s error rate below the department average for three consecutive quarters, and new hires consistently cite Alex’s hands-on coaching during their first weeks as the reason they ramped up quickly.”

Store Manager and General Manager Reviews

Store managers and general managers typically carry full profit-and-loss responsibility for a location or unit, along with staffing, customer experience, and operational compliance. Their reviews should weigh:

• Financial performance against budget, including revenue, labor cost, and shrink or waste, where applicable.
• Staffing health, including turnover, time-to-fill open roles, and the strength of the assistant managers or supervisors they have developed.
• Customer experience metrics, such as satisfaction scores, complaint volume, or repeat business.
• Operational discipline, including audit results, safety records, and adherence to brand or company standards.

Example phrase: “Diego’s store finished the year 6 percent above its labor-cost budget target while lifting the customer satisfaction score from 4.1 to 4.6, and he has developed his two assistant managers to the point where the location runs smoothly on the days he is out.”

Reviewing a Manager of Managers or a Full Leadership Team

When the review covers someone who manages other managers, or when a company runs a broader review of its full management team at once, the questions shift up a level. The relevant signals are less about any single team’s output and more about the health of the leadership layer as a whole:

• Are the managers who report to this leader growing, or are they stagnant and dependent on the leader for every decision?
• Does the leader coach other managers with the same rigor they apply to their own direct reports?
• When one team on the leader’s roster struggles, does the leader notice and intervene early, or does the problem surface only once it affects results?
• Across the group of managers, is there a consistent standard for feedback, 1:1s, and development, or does quality vary widely by manager?

A review of a full management team, sometimes requested during a reorganization or a leadership audit, should summarize these patterns across the group rather than treating each manager as an isolated case. Naming the shared strengths and the shared gaps gives leadership a clearer picture of where to invest in manager training or coaching support.

Part 7Writing a Review of Your Manager (As Their Direct Report)

Upward feedback is one of the most powerful ways to shape a manager’s growth, and it is also one of the most delicate to write. A direct report’s feedback carries information their manager cannot get anywhere else, though it also carries real risk if the feedback lands the wrong way.

You will most often be asked to write about your manager in a few specific contexts. Most companies with 360 review processes include upward feedback as a standard input. Some companies collect upward feedback separately as a manager development tool. In an exit interview, feedback about the manager often carries significant weight, because you have less reason to hold back.

The strongest upward feedback follows a simple shape: behavior, impact, and, where appropriate, suggestion. Naming the behavior grounds the feedback in something specific. Naming the impact shows why the behavior matters. Offering a suggestion, when the moment calls for it, points toward a path forward.

The goal is honest feedback that a thoughtful manager can act on. Feedback that stays general or lands as personal criticism rarely produces change and often produces defensiveness. Feedback that is specific and constructive almost always produces at least one useful adjustment.

Structure to follow:

1. Behavior: what your manager does, specifically.
2. Impact: how it affects you, the team, or the work.
3. Suggestion: what a stronger version of the behavior would look like (only when appropriate).

Positive Feedback for a Manager

Positive upward feedback is often under-shared. It is worth doing well, both because it reinforces the behaviors that are working and because it strengthens the working relationship over time.

Example positive phrases:

• The weekly 1:1 practice you have built has been one of the most valuable parts of my workweek, and the written recap you send after each conversation has helped me stay focused on the priorities we agreed on.
• Your calm, steady approach during the reorganization made a real difference for the team, and I want to name specifically how much the weekly written updates you sent helped us stay grounded.
• Your feedback on my writing this year has helped me grow in a way I did not expect. The pattern of specific, behavior-anchored comments has been especially useful.
• The way you handled the client escalation in Q2 gave me a clear model for how to handle similar moments with my own accounts. I have already tried the approach twice and both times it worked.
• You have been generous with the visibility and credit you give the team, and I want to name specifically how much I have appreciated being included in the leadership planning conversations this year.
• The way you protect our team’s focus from unnecessary meetings and requests has been one of the reasons, often overlooked, that the team has stayed productive during a busy year.

Constructive Feedback for a Manager

Constructive upward feedback calls for care in the wording. The strongest versions stay grounded in specific behavior, offer clear impact, and point toward a change that is realistic for the manager to make.

Example constructive phrases:

• During periods of high pressure, decisions have sometimes moved faster than the team has been able to process. A short written note explaining the reasoning behind significant changes would help the group stay aligned.
• Feedback on my work has often come at the end of a project, once the direction has already been set. Earlier, more frequent check-ins during projects would help me adjust before too much time is invested.
• Cross-functional decisions have sometimes been made without pulling the team into the conversation early. Including the team in the framing stage of shared initiatives would help us prepare and contribute more effectively.
• Written feedback on my growth areas has sometimes felt more general than actionable. Specific examples of when the behavior showed up would help me understand what to change.
• Recognition of the team’s work has occasionally been more understated than the effort warranted. Even brief written acknowledgment in the team channel would go a long way for the group’s energy.
• The pace of meetings during the busiest quarters has sometimes been difficult to sustain. A monthly meeting audit could help us protect the time we need for focused work.

For more, see “60 Smart Examples: Positive Feedback for Manager in a Review.”

Part 8How to Evaluate Your Manager’s Performance

Writing narrative feedback is one part of reviewing a manager. Many companies also ask direct reports to rate their manager against a set of criteria, whether through a formal 360 process, an engagement survey, or an informal check-in. Knowing what to weigh makes that rating more useful, both for the manager and for whoever reads the results.

Key Criteria for Rating a Manager

These criteria cover most of what a direct report can reasonably judge from their own vantage point:

• Availability and responsiveness: Does your manager make time for you, and respond to questions or blockers within a reasonable window?
• Clarity of direction: Do you generally know what is expected of you, and does your manager explain the reasoning behind priorities and changes?
• Quality of feedback: Is feedback specific and timely, or vague and infrequent?
• Advocacy: Does your manager represent your work and your interests accurately to their own manager and to other teams?
• Fairness: Are workload, recognition, and opportunities distributed in a way that feels even-handed across the team?
• Support for growth: Does your manager invest in your development, or leave it entirely up to you?
• Handling of conflict: Does your manager address tension directly and fairly, or let it sit until it escalates?
• Decision-making under pressure: Does your manager stay steady and think clearly when things go wrong?

A Simple Manager Evaluation Checklist

If you are filling out a formal manager evaluation form, or preparing notes before a conversation, a short checklist helps keep the assessment grounded in specifics rather than general impressions:

1. Pick two or three concrete moments from the last few months, rather than relying on a general feeling about the relationship.
2. Separate the person from the role. A manager can be likable and still fall short on a specific competency, and the reverse is also true.
3. Rate each criterion independently rather than letting one strong or weak area color every score.
4. Note the trend, in addition to the current state. A manager who has improved significantly over the past year deserves credit for the trajectory, even if some gaps remain.
5. Write one sentence of context next to any rating that is unusually high or low, so the reader understands the reasoning.

Should Feedback About a Manager Be Submitted Anonymously?

Many companies collect upward feedback anonymously, particularly through engagement surveys or 360 tools, to reduce the risk that a direct report holds back out of concern about how their manager will react. Anonymity has real benefits: it tends to surface more honest feedback, especially on sensitive topics like favoritism or conflict avoidance.

Anonymity also has a cost. Aggregated, anonymous comments are harder for a manager to act on than specific, attributed feedback delivered in a conversation. Where the relationship allows for it, direct and attributed feedback, offered with care, tends to produce faster and more targeted change than an anonymous comment buried in a survey summary. If you are choosing between the two and both are available, consider using the anonymous channel for patterns you have observed across the team, and a direct conversation for feedback specific to your own working relationship.

Part 9Performance Goals for Managers and Leaders

Manager-level goals should look different from individual contributor goals. Instead of naming the work the manager will personally deliver, they should name the outcomes the team will produce, the growth of the direct reports, and the areas of leadership the manager will develop.

A strong set of manager goals usually includes a mix of three types. A team outcome goal names what the group will deliver. A talent development goal names what will change for the manager’s direct reports. A leadership development goal names what the manager will build in themselves.

Example manager goals:

• By the end of Q4, lift enterprise retention from 88 percent to 94 percent across the team’s top 20 accounts, measured through the retention dashboard.
• Support two direct reports in reaching promotion readiness by year end, with a documented development plan for each.
• Complete the internal manager development program by the end of Q2, and integrate three of its practices into the team’s weekly rhythm.
• Hire two senior individual contributors during the first half of the year, and close both within eight weeks of the role opening.
• Reduce team meeting load by 25 percent by the end of Q1, and reallocate the time to focused execution work.
• Improve the team’s annual engagement score by five points, measured through the standard engagement survey.
• Deliver a written strategy memo for the function by the end of Q1, and use it as the anchor for quarterly planning conversations.
• Increase cross-functional partnership by holding a monthly working session with the peer leader in product for the first two quarters.

For more, see “50 Performance Goals Examples for Leaders.”

Part 10Manager Review Templates

Below are three templates you can adapt to your team’s review cycle.

Annual Manager Review Template

The most comprehensive of the manager review types. Written once a year, often paired with compensation and calibration.

Template

Annual Manager Performance Review for [manager name], [role], [period].

Opening: This annual review covers [manager]’s work as [role] from [start date] to [end date]. Overall, this has been a [tone descriptor] cycle for the manager and the team.

Team results: Under [manager]’s leadership, the team delivered [team result 1], [team result 2], and [team result 3], each tied to [team or business priority].

People leadership: [Manager] developed [named team members or growth outcomes], hired [hiring outcomes], and retained [retention signals]. Notable moments include [example 1] and [example 2].

Strategic contribution: Beyond the team, [manager] contributed to the broader organization by [cross-functional impact], and represented the function in [leadership context].

Strengths: The clearest leadership strengths this cycle were [strength 1], shown in [example], and [strength 2], shown in [example].

Areas for improvement: The most important area for continued growth is [growth area], shown in [example]. Focused work on [action] would strengthen the year ahead.

Goals for the next year: [Goal 1 with measure and timeline]. [Goal 2 with measure and timeline].

Development plan: [Training, coaching, executive coaching, or stretch assignments].

Summary: [Overall headline, main strengths, main growth area, forward-looking line].

360 Manager Review Template

Used when a manager review pulls input from multiple sources: the manager’s own manager, the team’s direct reports, and peer managers.

Template

360-Degree Review for [manager name], [role], [period].

From the manager’s manager: Overall assessment of [manager]’s cycle, with emphasis on team results, people leadership, and strategic contribution.

From direct reports: Common themes from upward feedback, including strongest leadership behaviors and areas where the team would value change.

From peer managers: Common themes from cross-functional feedback, including strongest partnerships and areas for continued collaboration.

Synthesis: The three perspectives converge on [common themes]. Where the perspectives differ, the most notable pattern is [where views diverge].

Focus areas for the next cycle: [Two or three specific areas the manager and their manager will work on together].

New Manager Review Template (First Six Months)

Used for a manager in the early months of their first management role. The tone should be developmental, with an emphasis on learning and habit-building.

Template

New Manager Six-Month Review for [manager name], [role], through [month].

Where the six months stand: [Manager] has completed the first six months of their first management role. Overall, the transition has been [tone descriptor].

Foundational practices: [Manager] has established [1:1 practice, weekly team ritual, feedback cadence, or other core practices].

Early team signals: The team has [engagement signal, delivery signal, or retention signal] during the transition.

Strongest early leadership behaviors: [Two behaviors that are working well].

Growth areas for the next six months: [Two behaviors to focus on next, framed developmentally].

Support in place: [Coaching, training, peer mentorship, or manager pairing].

Part 11Performance Review Tips for Managers and Reviewers

Beyond the specific competencies and templates, a handful of process habits separate a rushed manager review from one that actually changes behavior.

• Gather input before you start writing. Pull engagement data, retention numbers, and a quick read from two or three people who work closely with the manager, including peers where appropriate, before drafting a single sentence.
• Write the team results section first. Grounding the review in what actually happened makes the leadership commentary that follows easier to support with evidence.
• Match the tone to the substance. A review that is warm in tone but vague on specifics tends to read as insincere. A review that is direct but well-supported tends to land better than either extreme alone.
• Time the conversation with room to follow up. Schedule the review discussion when there is time afterward for questions, rather than squeezing it into the last slot before a holiday or a busy travel week.
• Keep the compensation conversation separate where possible. When pay decisions and developmental feedback happen in the same breath, the developmental message often gets lost. If your process allows it, consider giving the manager a day or two between hearing about their rating or pay and discussing the qualitative feedback in depth.
• Put one or two commitments in writing after the conversation. A short written recap of the agreed focus areas gives both sides something to revisit at the next check-in.

Part 12Common Mistakes in Manager Reviews

Even careful writers fall into a familiar set of traps when writing about managers.

Evaluating Effort Instead of Effect

Managers work hard. Long hours, difficult conversations, and heavy calendars are common. The trap is rewarding the effort itself, rather than the effect the effort produced. A manager who works exhausting hours to deliver mediocre team outcomes is often less effective than a calmer manager who protects the team and delivers stronger results. The strongest reviews focus on the effect, and use effort only as supporting context.

Ignoring Team Feedback Signals

The team a manager oversees is one of the richest sources of signal about how the manager is doing. Engagement scores, retention patterns, promotion outcomes, and 1:1 quality all offer real information. A manager review that draws only on the writer’s direct observation misses much of the picture. Even without a formal 360, the writer can informally sample the team’s experience.

Skipping the Manager-of-Managers Dimension

For managers who oversee other managers, the review needs to reach one level deeper. The health of the second tier of leaders below the executive is often the strongest signal of how the executive is leading. A director whose managers are struggling is usually a director with a coaching or development gap, even if their function delivered against plan.

Avoiding the Hard People-Leadership Conversations

The hardest feedback for many senior leaders to deliver is feedback about a manager’s people leadership. Business results are easier to point to. People leadership requires evidence that is harder to gather and language that is harder to write. The strongest reviews confront the hard conversations directly, with the same rigor and care used for business outcomes.

Reviewing the Manager Alone Instead of the Manager Plus the Team

A manager’s review only tells half the story if it does not also account for the composition and readiness of the team they inherited or built. A strong manager with a weak team may be doing extraordinary work that shows up slowly. A weaker manager with a strong team may be riding the momentum of others. Naming this context explicitly makes the review more accurate.

Overweighting Recent Cross-Functional Wins

Managers who spend time in cross-functional forums often produce visible wins in the weeks leading up to review season. The visibility can create a halo effect that overstates their year. The stronger evaluation looks across all four quarters and weighs the pattern rather than the most recent stretch.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a manager review be?

Most strong manager reviews run between 700 and 1,500 words, longer than the typical individual contributor review because they cover more dimensions. The length should serve the substance, and the strongest reviews are dense with specific evidence rather than padded with general commentary.

How do I evaluate a manager whose team missed its goals?

Look at the context first. A team that missed goals in a year of unusually strong headwinds, with the manager still developing their reports and holding the group together, may deserve a different review than a team that missed goals in an easier environment. The strongest evaluation names the outcome clearly, considers the context honestly, and focuses on the manager’s decisions rather than only on the results.

Should I include feedback from the manager’s direct reports?

Yes, whenever possible. A manager review that draws on the perspective of the team offers a fuller picture than a review written from the writer’s vantage point alone. Even without a formal 360 process, informal upward feedback can be collected and integrated as themes rather than as attributed comments.

How do I give upward feedback to my manager without hurting my career?

Ground every piece of feedback in specific behavior and clear impact. Offer a suggestion when it fits. Avoid personal characterization. Most thoughtful managers value the feedback and act on at least part of it. If the culture in your team makes upward feedback dangerous, that itself is useful information worth considering.

What is the difference between a manager review and a leadership review?

The terms overlap in practice. A manager review typically covers the work of running a team, including 1:1s, feedback, hiring, and delivery. A leadership review often includes those elements and adds broader dimensions such as strategy, cross-functional influence, and cultural contribution. At the director and executive level, the two terms are often used interchangeably.

How do I write a review for a new manager in their first six months?

Focus on the foundational practices the manager has established, the early signals from the team, and the specific developmental behaviors to build in the next six months. Keep the tone forward-looking and warm. The first year of management is a steep learning curve, and the review should reflect that reality.

Can I use the same rating scale for managers as for individual contributors?

Most companies use the same scale but define the levels differently for managers. A “meets expectations” for a manager assumes both the team’s results and the health of the team meet the bar. Calibration sessions across the leadership group help keep those definitions consistent.

How are managers typically evaluated at most companies?

Most companies combine three inputs: the manager’s own manager assesses team results and leadership behavior, direct reports contribute upward feedback through a survey or 360 process, and the manager completes a self-assessment. The relative weight given to each input varies, but the combination of top-down, bottom-up, and self-reported perspectives is the most common structure.

How do I rate my manager on a numeric or star-based scale?

Score each criterion independently rather than defaulting to one overall number. If the form gives you a single scale, use the manager evaluation criteria above as your internal rubric, weigh your impressions across the categories that matter most for your role, and add a short written comment explaining any score at the extreme ends of the scale.

What is the difference between reviewing a supervisor and reviewing a manager?

The terms are often used interchangeably, though a supervisor role sometimes carries less strategic scope and more day-to-day oversight of a shift or a small team. A supervisor review tends to weigh coaching consistency, fairness in scheduling, and quality on the ground more heavily, while a manager review often adds strategic planning, budget ownership, and cross-functional influence to the mix.

How do I address an attitude concern in a manager’s performance review?

Ground the feedback in specific, observable moments rather than a general label like “negative attitude.” Describe what happened, who was affected, and the impact on the team or the work. For example, rather than noting that a manager “has a bad attitude in meetings,” describe the specific pattern: comments about a new process were dismissive before the team had a chance to explain the reasoning, which made two peers hesitant to raise problems in front of the group. Pair the observation with a clear, achievable expectation for what a stronger version of the behavior would look like going forward.

What should I do if my manager reacts poorly to constructive feedback?

Stay grounded in the behavior-impact-suggestion structure, and avoid escalating the tone in response to a defensive reaction. Some managers need a day to process feedback before they can engage with it productively. If the reaction feels disproportionate or the relationship makes future honest feedback difficult, that pattern is worth noting in a future review cycle or a skip-level conversation.

How is a store manager or general manager review different from other manager reviews?

Store and general manager reviews typically add operational and financial dimensions that a typical office-based manager review might not include, such as labor-cost management, shrink or waste, customer experience scores, and compliance with brand or safety standards, alongside the standard people-leadership competencies.

Conclusion

Manager performance reviews carry unusual weight because a manager’s effect ripples through the team long after the words are written. Whether you are writing a review for a manager you oversee or writing feedback about the manager you work for, the strongest approach is the same: specific evidence, honest framing, warmth in the tone, and forward-looking clarity in the growth areas.

When you are ready to go deeper, return to our complete guide “Performance Reviews: The Complete Guide” for the full system. For the largest phrase library across every competency, see “2000+ Performance Review Phrases: The Complete List.”