Reviews & performance
Ask what great looks like this cycle
A short conversation at the start of the cycle to learn what would make your year stand out
Early in the review cycle, ask your manager what would make this a standout year for someone in your role, and write down what they say.
- 10 minutes
- You and your manager
- Each review cycle
- Conversation
Why this can work
The bar for a great review usually lives in your manager's head, so ask for it while there's still a year to aim at it. Goals tell you what to work on; this question tells you what would make the result stand out. Asking early also tells your manager you intend to aim high, which gives them a reason to watch for it.
Read moreHow to ask your manager about performance expectations
You’ll come away with your manager's picture of a standout year, written down while there's time to act on it.
- Put it on your next 1:1 agenda.
The first month of the cycle is ideal, and any time before the midpoint still helps. A heads-up lets your manager think rather than improvise.
- Ask the question about your role.
Asking about someone in your role, rather than about you, makes it easier to answer honestly.
You“Looking at this year, what would make it a standout year for someone in my role? Not just meeting expectations, but the kind of year you'd point to.” - Ask for an example.
Words like ownership or impact are hard to act on. A real example turns them into something you could do on a Tuesday.
You“Is there someone, here or somewhere you've worked, who had a year like that? What did they actually do?” - Ask why it matters.
Knowing what a standout year does for the team or the company lets you find your own route to it, which tends to impress more than following a checklist.
You“What would that do for the team this year?” - Send back what you heard.
A short note afterward confirms you understood, and gives you both something to look at later in the year.
To: your managerThanks for talking through what a standout year would look like. Here's what I took away:
first thing you heard
second thing you heard, and why it matters for the team
Did I capture that right? If so, I'll use it to set my priorities for the year.
Swap the highlighted parts for your thing. Works on Slack, in email, or said out loud.
Good times to repeat it: at the start of each review cyclewhen you get a new managerwhen your role changes
Making it work for you
Every workplace is different. Here’s what to think about before you start, and what might get in the way.
Things to think about
Your manager is describing a picture, not guaranteeing a rating, and other people and budgets may shape the outcome. It still tells you where to aim.
What might make this harder
Take the compliment, then ask what would move it from good to standout. A comparison is easier to answer than an open question.
Questions people ask
How do I find out what my manager expects from me?
Ask directly, early in the cycle: what would make this a standout year for someone in my role? Then ask for an example and write down what you heard.
What does exceeds expectations mean?
It varies by company. It usually means results or impact beyond what the role normally asks for, but the reliable way to know what it means where you work is to ask your manager and read any published criteria.
When should I ask my manager about expectations?
At the start of each review cycle, when a new manager arrives, and whenever your role changes. Earlier is better, while there's still time to act on the answer.
How do I get a top performance rating?
Start by learning what the bar actually is where you work, then aim your year at it. Nothing guarantees a rating, since it reflects company decisions as well as your work, but knowing the target helps a lot.
Why this works, and where it comes from
Plenty of people learn what great meant only in the gap between the rating they got and the one they hoped for. The bar existed all year. It just lived in someone else's head, where nobody thought to ask for it, and it was usually knowable months before anyone measured against it.
From your manager's side, the answer is shaped by what the team needs this year and by what they'll have to explain when ratings are set. A standout year, to a manager, often means you solved a problem they were worried about. Or took something off their plate they had no time for. Learning that tells you where your work could matter most, which isn't always where you're strongest. It also means your ambitions and the team's goals can point the same way, which is when support gets easy.
What you hear may not match what you'd have guessed. It's easy to assume a standout year means more of the same work, done faster. The answer often points somewhere different in kind: owning a problem end to end, making a call without being asked, or becoming the person another team turns to. A standout year is usually about the shape of your work more than the amount of it. That's worth hearing in your manager's own words, rather than inferring it from a list of goals.
This isn't the first question for everyone. If you're new in a role, or honestly unsure you're meeting the basics yet, ask what solid looks like before you ask about standout. It's the better conversation to have first, and a manager who sees you take it seriously is usually glad to help with the next one.
Other simple things to consider
What to do next
More in Reviews & performance
A few minutes that compound
Do it with Truest and it goes on your permanent record, in a Career Vault your employer doesn’t own.
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- On your recordWhen it's done, it goes on your record with your priorities and progress.
- A living page in your VaultKeep it as one page you add to, next to your reviews and your files.
Read this alongside your role page
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An exercise written by Truest, based on our experience. Last updated September 25, 2026. We sell a career membership; where that’s relevant above, we say so.