Performance Reviews aren’t just a meeting on the calendar—they’re a chance to inspire growth, deepen trust, and support your team’s development. But if you skip the pre-work, you risk stepping into the room unprepared for the real conversation.
That’s where the Warm-Up comes in.
The Warm-Up conversation is part of the Feedback Fitness Framework. It happens before the formal review. Think of it as the entrée that sets up the main course for success. If your reviews are in July, plan your Warm-Ups for June.
Leaders who invest in these conversations reduce friction, build psychological safety, and increase the usefulness of the feedback that follows.
And here’s why it matters:
In my 2023 research, 19.1% of men and 9.2% of women rated themselves as reluctant to receive feedback at work. If we don’t ask the right questions upfront, we miss critical insight into how our people experience feedback.
Reword them in your own voice, but keep the intent:
What do you believe about feedback in general?
What’s important to you about feedback in the workplace?
How do you typically feel about receiving feedback at work?
What’s your experience with receiving feedback in Performance Reviews?
How do you prefer to receive feedback—what works best for you?
How do you know when feedback has been useful to you?
Of the three types—Acknowledgement, Evaluation, and Guidance Feedback—which do you find most useful?
Which type do you find least useful?
One Leader I worked with—30+ years of experience—told me:
“I’ve never asked my team about their beliefs around feedback. I just assumed everyone liked feedback the way I do.”
That assumption is where many performance conversations lose impact.
If these eight questions spark something for you, I’ve documented over 150 feedback-focused questions leaders can use.