Can you believe we are mid-way through 2023!

What an opportune time to take stock, celebrate what we have achieved and planned and reset for what lies ahead.

It’s a great time of year to assess where you are, and if you’re leading a team, connect with them individually via one-on-one sessions.

There is talk of performance reviews being obsolete, but I think there is still a place for them but with a different focus.

Many clients we work with have annual or six-monthly check-ins; I liken these to servicing your car. It’s what happens in between the services that determine how much work is done on the car.

If you regularly coach your team, the process of the actual performance review or preview (as I call them) should be effortless, and there shouldn’t be any surprises. Coaching ensures ongoing and consistent feedback, resulting in real-time dialogue on what is working and what needs to change before it’s too late.

Ongoing feedback helps individuals and teams understand their strengths and weaknesses and how to manage them. Within the workplace, one of the best ways to promote self-awareness among employees is to foster a culture of peer feedback in conjunction with input from management. I am passionate about encouraging and educating others to share feedback, have open conversations, and bring in coaching to foster empowerment, awareness, curiosity and ongoing growth to maximise performance.

Feedback is a great vehicle to promote self-awareness in and out of the workplace. Be open to giving and receiving it so you can expand your self-awareness and the self-awareness of those around you.

People are either internally or externally motivated.

Internally Motivated – When making a decision, internally motivated people will listen to feedback but usually already decide for themselves and will go with their original decision.

Externally Motivated – Those who are externally motivated will view feedback almost like an instruction, taking it entirely on board when deciding.

Externally motivated people tend to like and need feedback.

Many senior leaders I come across are internally focused, especially if they have been in a role for a long time. They rely on their intuition and experience rather than seeking feedback from others. The danger with this is that they can become blinded to opportunity and miss out on feedback that could be helpful.

Ensure you give people feedback the way they like it.

Some people like a lot of feedback, and some want less; some even prefer to receive feedback publicly instead of privately.

The How and When of Feedback

When conducting performance reviews, there should be a focus on “previewing” what’s next instead of doing a total review of what has already occurred.

You need to learn from the past; I believe 20% of the time should have a focus on the review. And 80% as a preview of what can be proactively planned and implemented.

The past is about learning, and the future is about progress.

5 simple questions to look at what’s next:

  1. Where are you now?
  2. What’s available to you?
  3. Where do you want to be?
  4. How will you get there?
  5. How will you know you are getting there?

I’m a huge advocate of learning from the past, and the last few years have provided a forum for us to learn so much about ourselves and those around us.

Take the lessons and meld them into what you want to happen next and who you want to become.

New Year Cleanse

1:1 90-minute Coaching Session
Being midway through 2023 and with the EOFY coming up for many of us, what better time than now to reflect, reset and refocus?

This one-off Coaching session is for Coaches, Thought Leaders, Business owners and Executives.

This 90-minute 1:1 session with lead coach Renée Giarrusso will coach you through strategies to reflect and reset and uncover possibilities and insight to maximise who you are and where you are going.

This session includes an emotional healing immersion which will help you explore who you need to be and what you need to do to achieve what is important to you.

Places are limited; please contact admin@reneegiarrusso.com to register your interest.

Executive Coaching Places are open for July

You know where you want to go, and you may already be successful in your role or business.

Sometimes you question WHAT it is that you need to do and HOW you are going to get there. It’s difficult to recognise your blind spots or get out of your head.

We have Executive Coaching programs for either 12 or 18-month programs.

Find out more about our Executive Coaching Programs here.


Renée’s enthusiasm for coaching, leading and mentoring is all about taking you and your team on a journey of discovering self and leading your team to higher results. The delivery from Renée is always on point and comes from a place of wanting people to succeed at work and life in general. I can’t recommend Renée highly enough if you want to improve self and take your business and teams to the next level. I look forward to working with you again soon.
Tony Gall, Regional Sales Manager, North, Metricon Homes


Ready to ramp up Emotional Fitness in your team and organisation?

Create future-fit, encouraging, adaptable, and resilient leadership teams – even under pressure. While most businesses are good at optimising practical skills, Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is often overlooked. EQ is a key “soft skill” that needs to be deepened and developed and is the new psychology of leadership.

Emotional-social intelligence is a cross-section of interrelated emotional and social competencies, skills and facilitators that determine how effectively we understand and express ourselves, understand others and relate with them, and cope with daily demands” Bar-On 2005

Are you ready to develop Emotional Fitness in your leaders and organisation?

Find out more about our Emotional Intelligence in-house Program here.

Lead to be limitless…