It's performance review time again. Or almost. Or was. Or maybe it's still a month out. However your review calendar works, if reviews are stressful, starting something small now can give you more confidence next year.

There's common advice that developers should "own their career." Basically, don't rely solely on your manager and organization for your career path. It sure sounds good, I wouldn't want to not own my career. The catch? Despite being really good advice, no one really tells them how. That's the missing chapter in the workplace handbook. And that is where you come to the rescue 🦸

My preferred approach to teach this involves a journal. Tracking their growth and accomplishments on a project by project basis and keeping track of key tickets and PRs does the trick. My template tries to prompt them to make it easier to journal meaningfully, use something that feels right for you and your reports.

https://www.ethanschlenker.com/tools/dev-journal/

The journal gives them the ability to better "own their career," AND it takes some of the load off of you in the process. There is a certain managerial joy in being able to cut and paste a review together when staring at another blank review form.

But more importantly, if you work with them to ensure a solid career ownership practice, it can be the difference between your report consistently getting recognized vs. waiting till the next cycle.

Take this advice to your devs, teach them how to own their career in a way that suits them, and reviews will be better documented and mostly written by the time review season comes around. Everyone wins 🤞🏻