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How often do you communicate to your team about their performance? Do you wait for the performance appraisal time to address issues? If the answer is 'yes' then you far from being a smart manager (though not an uncommon one).

Evaluation time is often associated with negativity as managers confront their juniors on what the latter should not have done or have fallen short of achieving.

A good manager must never wait for six months or a year to give feedback to his team members. Whether the feedback is negative or positive, it should be on an ongoing basis. It is a skill that they have to master with a lot of caution.

Performance appraisals should not spring any surprises apart from the happy news of a good raise. There are at least 16 reasons why people don't perform the way you want, according to Ferdinand Fournies, author of Why Employees Don't Do What They're Supposed to Do and What To Do About It, "The one who loses most when an employee fails is the manager; the one who gains the most when an employee performs well is the manager." Consequently, it is the manager who must intervene to assist the employee to perform appropriately.