Performance Reviews Fail When You Rely on Memory
You sit down to write a performance review. It's been six months since the last one. You open a blank document and... nothing. You remember the big project that shipped, maybe a couple of incidents, but the daily wins? The growth moments? The context that actually matters? Gone.
This isn't a memory problem. It's a system problem.
The Memory Tax
As an Engineering Manager, you're juggling:
- 5-10 direct reports
- Dozens of 1:1s per month
- Projects, incidents, and daily decisions
- Your own work and growth
Expecting yourself to remember six months of nuanced performance data across your entire team is unrealistic. Yet that's exactly what traditional performance review cycles demand.
What Gets Lost
When you rely on memory, you lose:
Recency Bias Takes Over
The last month dominates the review. Someone who struggled early but grew significantly gets the same rating as someone who coasted.
Context Disappears
You remember what happened, but not why. The challenging conversation that led to breakthrough growth? Forgotten. The external factors that made a project harder? Lost.
Patterns Become Invisible
Growth happens in small increments. Without notes, you can't see the trajectory—only snapshots.
The Alternative: Capture Context as It Happens
The solution isn't trying harder to remember. It's building a habit of capturing context in the moment:
After every 1:1: Spend 2 minutes noting key points, concerns, or wins.
When you observe something notable: Write it down immediately. Good or bad, if it's worth mentioning in a review, it's worth noting now.
Weekly reviews: Spend 10 minutes reviewing your notes and adding any missing context.
This isn't about surveillance or micromanagement. It's about having the data you need to write reviews that actually reflect reality.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Instead of:
"Sarah did well on the API project."
You have:
"Sarah led the API redesign (Q2). Initially struggled with stakeholder communication—we worked on this in our 1:1s. By project end, she was running stakeholder meetings independently. Delivered 2 weeks early with zero production issues."
The first version is forgettable. The second version is useful—for the review, for Sarah's growth, and for your own understanding of what good looks like.
The Compound Effect
This approach doesn't just make reviews easier. It makes you a better manager:
- Better 1:1s: You remember what you discussed last time
- Better feedback: You can reference specific examples
- Better decisions: You see patterns others miss
- Better trust: Your team knows you're paying attention
Start Small
You don't need a perfect system. Start with:
- A simple note after each 1:1
- A weekly 10-minute review
- One sentence per notable event
The goal isn't comprehensive documentation. It's having enough context to write honest, specific reviews that help your team grow.
Performance reviews don't have to be painful. They just need better inputs than your memory.
About the Author
Carlos Corrêa da Silva is an Engineering Manager and the builder of Ledger, a tool designed to help engineering managers maintain context on their teams. He focuses on making people management more systematic and less reliant on memory.