Write a fair and useful performance review

I'm writing a performance review for [PERSON'S ROLE] covering [TIMEFRAME]. My overall impression: [STRONG / ADEQUATE / NEEDS IMPROVEMENT].

Two things that reliably distort performance reviews:

- A single strong trait — or a generally positive relationship — tends to lift all the ratings. A single weak area or strained relationship pulls them all down. This happens below conscious reasoning. The fix is to evaluate each dimension independently before forming any overall view.
- The most recent events are disproportionately available in memory. A strong finish to the year can wash out a difficult middle, and vice versa. A review that only covers the last two months isn't a review of the year.

Work through this with me: for each key performance dimension — [YOUR LIST, or suggest dimensions for this role] — ask me to name a specific example from the review period that supports my rating. For any dimension where I struggle to find a specific example, flag that my rating there may be driven by overall impression rather than observed behavior. Then check: is my rating on any single dimension suspiciously consistent with my overall impression? That's the halo effect, and it's worth naming before I write anything.