We are working with a new Performance Appraisal system at my library. A lot of the fuss for that has died down, but now we are doing our important annual employee appraisals. Alas that bureaucratic labor like this is my Achilles heel. And so is marketing my Achilles heel. And I'm not so good at spiders either. So I might have an octopus-like collection of Achilles heels. But anyway, I have been dreading and procrastinating filling out this year's edition of appraisals, wherein we evaluate ourselves.
But once I got going on filling it out, I kind of enjoyed it. I wrote about myself in the third person feeling it would sound less self-aggrandizing in that perspective, and I am happy with the results. Plus, it made me think that you might like to see a fair and even assessment of my quality as a worker for the library and for the county. You read so many of my stories about my working here, but what, you wonder, am I really like as an employee?
And so with that in mind I provide for you the "self rating" portion of my performance review. I hope it can provide more insight (among those interested) into what I am like as a worker at this job. It should be noted that the highest possible official rating for employee performance is "Consistently Meets Expectations", which is why you will see me refer to it so often.
MODELS RAMSEY COUNTY VALUES
Reminder: Refer to the Ramsey County
Competency Model for detailed description of values behavior expectations.
Employee Self Rating:
Feldenstein exceeds
expectations in this category in every way and is possibly the greatest
employee in this regard that The County has ever employed. To use the
technical terms of this appraisal, Feldenstein “Consistently Meets Expectations”, but
this understates the extraordinary, frankly inspiring contributions this
employee brings to the County and to its ambitious values profile.
Employee Comments and Supporting Examples:
People, integrity, community, equity,
and leadership. I’m surprised that these very words representing the values of
the county, don’t, as an acronym, spell out F E L D E N S T E I N. So perfectly does he
embody, in physical, working form, these glorious values of the county.
Thoughtful, attentive, and fair with every person he meets, faultlessly
ethical, honest, and consistent, a focal point that brings every single county
stakeholder together in magnificent harmony and vision, tireless in his
commitment to justice, diversity, and reparative fairness across every failure
of our community’s past, and so inspiring as to be a guiding light for everyone
who meets him, Feldenstein’s commitment and dedication to the county’s values is unparalleled.
A disenfranchised library patron
recently commented “I have had my problems with institutions in the past, but
when I come to the library and see Feldenstein Calypso working at the front desk of the
library, I know that our county is doing great things for the community. He
makes the library into a wonderful place. It is not just a pleasure to see him,
but I know that he will do everything he can to help me.”
RESULTS ACHIEVEMENT
Reminder: Refer to the Ramsey County Competency Model for detailed
description of competency behavior expectations.
Results Achievement:
Employee Self Rating
Wow. Just wow. It
might be expected that with his long years working at the library for the
county, Feldenstein would be knowledgeable about his job, but it goes far, far beyond
that. The results Feldenstein brings to his work (more of a “calling” than simply “work”)
is inspiring. So, Feldenstein “Consistently Meets Expectations” according to the
paradigm of this performance review, but again he, in reality, exceeds every
expectation here, and he pushes the boundaries of what a person can bring to a
job like his, into a territory where what he contributes becomes so extraordinary
as to be almost magical.
Employee Comments and Supporting Examples:
Feldenstein knows his stuff, gets things done, makes
things better, and he finds solutions. A patron recently commented: “I don’t
know how he does it. He’s a wizard!”. But despite all the discussions here
about magic, the truth is simpler: Feldenstein works hard. He cares. He strives ever
to improve. His commitment is unmatched. His studying is endless, and his
inspiring visions that he brings to the library every day, ever endeavoring to
improve himself, the library, and the county, are in every way a result of
effort; tireless, endless, breathtaking effort, passion, and devotion to the
people and institution of Ramsey County.
SUMMARY RATING OF EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE
|
Model Ramsey County Values:
|
|
|
Results Achievement:
|
|
Overall Employee Comments:
Please provide a summary
of your work during the stated review period. This can include your
contributions, successes, areas where you learned through mistakes, etc. It
should also include 1 – 3 values and/or competencies you would like to focus on
for development in the coming year.
What a year. Feldenstein has done legendary work for the library for almost 30 years, but it is possible
that this was his greatest year of all and possibly the greatest contribution
to the county in its history. He is the crown jewel of Ramsey County. He has
brought books, justice, art, inspiration, insight, wholesomeness, vision, humor,
diversity, integrity, life, wisdom, professionalism, heart, loyalty, soul, and
genius to the library and to the county this past year. He has made the
designation (in this performance appraisal) of “Consistently Meets
Expectations” into one of the greatest understatements of all time, like saying
“Messi is an adequate soccer player” or “Bob Dylan can write songs” or “Martin
Luther King Jr. evinced an interest in justice". Feldenstein will do anything for the
library he works at, for the people of his community, and for the county in
which it all takes place. A patron recently said of Feldenstein (this happened merely
five minutes ago, an indication of how often it happens!) “Feldenstein brings joy to
the library.” This is a fair indication of how beloved Feldenstein is at the library.
In the year to come
Feldenstein would like to work on embodying justice, skill, and wisdom in a way that
helps him become an even greater agent of the county and the library. Although one naturally must wonder if his work
with the county can actually improve, since it is possible, with the
quality of Feldenstein’s work being so high, this level of skill, vision, and
contribution we’re talking about remains untested by any other worker in the
history of Ramsey County.
