Performance review phrases for decision making

Exceeds expectations

• Chose to hold a doubtful batch despite the dispatch clock, and a later check proved the call right.
• Weighs two or three options quickly with the facts at hand, then commits rather than stalling.
• Separates reversible calls, made fast, from costly ones that get a second opinion first.
• Escalates only the decisions that truly need a senior, and settles the rest within own authority.
• Uses the last three months of data to pick the reorder quantity, not a rough guess.
• Owns an unpopular staffing call and explains the reasoning, so the team accepts it without resentment.
• Decides on a supplier switch within the day when one fails, keeping the line running.
• Names the risk of each option aloud before choosing, so the team sees the trade-off clearly.
• Revisits a call that is not working and changes course early, rather than defending it.

Meets expectations

• Makes routine decisions on time without pushing every one up to the manager.
• Gathers the key facts before deciding rather than acting on the first impression.
• Chooses within own authority and escalates the rest with a clear recommendation.
• Explains the basis for a decision when asked, so it can be reviewed.
• Balances speed and care, deciding quickly on small things and slowly on large ones.
• Accepts a decision once made and moves on rather than reopening it repeatedly.
• Consults the people affected before a call that changes their work.
• Learns from a decision that went wrong instead of repeating the same choice.

Needs improvement

• Delays decisions until the option to act has nearly passed.
• Pushes routine calls up to the manager that fall within own authority.
• Decides on gut feel without checking the facts that are easily available.
• Reopens settled decisions often, which unsettles the team and slows work.
• Treats small reversible calls with the same caution as major ones, so nothing moves.
• Defends a decision that is clearly not working rather than changing course.
• Decides without consulting the people the call affects, causing avoidable friction.
• Cannot explain the reasoning behind a choice, so it is hard to trust or review.

Self-review phrases

• I now settle routine calls within my authority instead of pushing each to my manager.
• I name the risk of each option before choosing, so the trade-off is clear.
• I want to change course sooner when a decision is clearly not working.
• I used three months of data to set the reorder level rather than a guess.

Tips for writing this feedback

• Judge decisions by the process and the facts used, not only by whether the outcome happened to work.
• Separate reversible calls from costly ones; slow, careful thinking on small decisions is its own problem.
• Check whether the person decides on time, since chronic delay can cost more than an imperfect choice.
• Look at how unpopular or wrong calls were handled: owned and explained, or defended past the point of sense.
• Note whether the people affected were consulted, which often separates a sound decision from a resented one.

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