Most leaders are and they don’t even realize it. Fraud, by definition, is “an act of deceiving or misrepresenting.” And one of the most common places it shows up? The performance appraisal process.
In most organizations, “Exceeds Expectations” is a bogus performance measure. Undefined, inconsistently applied, and nearly impossible to earn. Leaders set performance expectations but fail to articulate what it would take to exceed them. Employees are left guessing, trying to reverse-engineer excellence from vague goals and shifting standards. It’s a performance promise with no playbook. Leaders dangle the chance of a top rating, then default to “meets” with a fog of corporate jargon explaining why their performance fell short of exceeds.
The Fix: Define the Success Spectrum. Every goal must come with two crystal-clear thresholds:
Meets Expectations: The baseline—what competent execution looks like
Exceeds Expectations: The stretch target of what outstanding performance looks like
Employees deserve a clear path to excellence. Not just so they know how to meet expectations but so they know how to crush them. And when they do? They must be rated accordingly. Anything less sends the message that effort doesn’t matter, it breeds disengagement and yes, it’s fraud.
Clarity isn’t micromanagement, it’s the fuel behind accountability, ambition, and results. When leaders define success, they ignite performance. When they rate with integrity, they build trust.
It’s time to stop playing the appraisal fraud game and start leading with integrity and courage.
And that’s the Wicked Truth!