How to Give a Performance Review When the System's Rigged

When you're forced to deliver a performance rating you don't believe in, don't defend it and don't hide behind the system. Split the number from the truth: hand off the company's rating cleanly, tell the person the real thing that number can't hold, and make sure the review is never the first time they hear where they stand. Colby Morris calls it The Split. Forced ranking. The curve decided before you even walk into calibration. A person who crushed the year, and you're handed a "meets expectations" to deliver and told not to blame the system. It's about the most people-last thing in corporate life, and you're the one holding the bag. This is a fired-up, people-first take on how to get through that room without lying to your people or torching your own credibility, including the two gutless moves almost every manager makes, and what to do when the raise is as rigged as the rating. *Colby Morris: "The rating is the company's word. The truth is yours."* **What is The Split?** The Split is Colby Morris's framework for delivering a performance rating you don't agree with. Three moves: deliver the number without wearing it, say the true thing the number can't hold, and shrink the annual number by telling people the truth all year long. The how for each is in the episode. **What do you do when you're forced to give a rating you don't believe in?** You stop doing the two things that backfire: selling a number you don't buy, which your people smell instantly, so trust dies, or hiding behind the system, which makes you look powerless and half the time isn't even allowed. The third path, the one that keeps you human, is in the episode. **Why do performance reviews feel rigged right now?** Because increasingly they are. Glassdoor's 2026 data found 88% of performance-review mentions negative, up from 83% in 2021. Mentions of PIPs have risen almost eightfold since 2021, and stack ranking and forced distribution mentions are up more than fourfold. Post-layoff cost control and higher performance bars are tightening curves while raises stay flat. **How do you handle a review when the raise doesn't match the work?** You don't oversell. Piling on praise and then handing over a two-percent raise turns the praise into an insult. You name the gap honestly and go fight for the person somewhere you actually have room. The full move is in the episode. **Research and references in this episode** - Colby Morris: "The system can rank your people. It cannot own them." - Glassdoor, 2026: 88% of performance-review mentions negative (up from 83% in 2021); PIP mentions up almost eightfold since 2021; stack ranking and forced distribution mentions up more than fourfold. - Kim Scott, Radical Candor: care personally and challenge directly. **Related episodes** - Employee Reviews That Don't Suck - One-on-One Meetings That Work - How to Have Tough Conversations with Employees - You Got the Title. You Didn't Get Their Respect. **Connect with Colby Morris** Colby Morris is the founder of NXT Step Advisors, where he helps organizations build people-first leaders through keynotes, executive coaching, and leadership training.  Learn more at NXTStepAdvisors.com or connect with Colby on LinkedIn. Support the show - Colby's LinkedIn Profile - NXTStepAdvisors.com