Part 1
Your Performance Ratings Measure the Manager, Not the Person
A rating says more about who's giving it than who's receiving it. The research is uncomfortable.
Video Series · 28 parts
Competency and Culture
A 28-part series on building a performance and culture system that holds up: why ratings reflect the rater more than the person, how calibration fixes it, why pay and growth belong in separate conversations, how to hire for culture add instead of “fit,” and how to build a competency framework your managers actually remember. Hosted by Deepti Gupta, co-founder of Sageo.
Watch the full playlist on YouTubePart 2
The Strict Manager and the Distant Manager: Two Wrong Ratings
Two honest ratings, both wrong. Meet the strict manager and the distant manager.
Part 3
5 Biases Hiding in Every Performance Rating
Leniency, halo, similarity, recency, central tendency. Five biases in almost every review.
Part 4
Calibration in 2 Minutes: A Second Look Before Ratings Count
A structured second look that checks ratings against evidence before they become decisions.
Part 5
Your Best Performer Might Be Your Most Expensive Hire
The business case against the toxic high performer, in two studies.
Part 6
Demanding Boss or Brilliant Jerk? How to Tell the Difference
Demanding leaders raise the standard. Brilliant jerks raise the cost of being near them.
Part 7
How to Spot a Brilliant Jerk Before (and After) You Hire Them
Five hiring checks and five on-team warning signals.
Part 8
Score the What and the How: Fixing Results-Only Reviews
Score outcomes and behaviour separately, and the toxic-producer box stops hiding.
Part 9
Your Company Values Are Just Words (Until Reviews Use Them)
Published values don't predict lived values. The review is where values live or die.
Part 10
What Boeing Teaches Every Company About Values
A value on a wall can't protect anyone. Only the systems behind it can.
Part 11
What Ownership Actually Looks Like at Every Level
Turn a vague value into behaviours a manager can see and rate, at each level.
Part 12
How to Turn a Company Value Into Observable Behaviour
The critical incident technique: write behaviours from real moments, then test them.
Part 13
“Not a Culture Fit”: The Most Expensive Sentence in Hiring
When “fit” isn't defined, interviewers define it as “like me.” The research is clear.
Part 14
The Product Manager Who “Wasn't a Fit” (And What Happened Next)
One company saw a problem. Another saw a leader. Same person, same habits.
Part 15
Culture Fit vs Culture Add: Stop Hiring People Like You
Stop asking “are they like us?” Start asking “what do they add?”
Part 16
4 Interview Changes to Stop Hiring for Familiarity
Four practical interview changes, and one line for your scorecard.
Part 17
Why Nobody Remembers Your Feedback (Once Pay Enters the Room)
20 minutes of feedback, one number. Guess which part they remember.
Part 18
Only 2% of HR Leaders Say Their Reviews Make People Better
The people who own the review process don't believe in it either.
Part 19
Separate Pay and Performance Reviews Without Breaking the Link
Same link, different order: a four-step sequence for fair pay and real growth.
Part 20
How to Run a Growth Conversation: SBI and GROW Explained
Two simple frameworks: SBI looks back, GROW looks forward. Neither has a number.
Part 21
Why 360 Reviews Don't Fix Biased Ratings
More raters doesn't mean more accuracy. It means more rulers.
Part 22
What Zalando's Employee Rating System Teaches Every Founder
Continuous peer ratings wired straight into pay. What the research found.
Part 23
How to Run a Calibration Session: 5 Steps, One Rule
No score without evidence. Five steps that catch errors in both directions.
Part 24
Calibration vs Forced Ranking: Where Is Your Line?
Same meeting, different starting point: evidence, or a quota.
Part 25
The 30-Second Test for Your Competency Framework
Ask any manager to name the competencies they rate on, from memory.
Part 26
Why Long Competency Lists Make Reviews Less Fair
Eight people, 25 competencies, 200 judgments. The maths of unfairness.
Part 27
Stop Copying Big Company Competency Frameworks
Use a library as a menu, not a meal. The real test is whether people use it.
Part 28
How to Build a Competency Framework With Fewer Than 10 Items
Three layers, fewer than ten per person, and three rules that keep it honest.
The written series
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The same ideas in depth, as a set of long-form articles on the blog.
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