Employee performance reviews are one of most dreaded tasks by most managers. It is hard to win here – you can never say enough good things, and one word of criticism is generally only thing they will remember.

Taking easy way out and just documenting positive will cause you a lot of trouble if you ever need to fire employee.

The only way this ever gets better is with a lot of practice, and a pretty thick skin. Think about it this way: a bit of feedback that no one else has guts to give a poor performer might turn around their whole career. Deliver negative – you have to – but make sure employee knows there are things they can do about it. For more effective performance reviews, prepare at time of hire by giving all employees copies of review forms you use in their orientation packet. An employee who knows how she will be reviewed will direct his behavior accordingly from beginning of his employment and will probably do all she can to be sure he has good reviews.

With long-term trend of protecting employees' individual self esteem added to an overriding concern over expensive employee lawsuits, accountability is more a buzzword than a way of life at most companies.

This is a state of mind that has existed since 1960s, so average employee has never received real quality negative feedback -- kind of feedback that might help startle him or her out of career-dashing behavior and toward a more lucrative and successful work life.

Smart employers realize that people are their only sustainable competitive advantage. Companies hiring this year will be looking for people who are highly capable in their fields of expertise and who energize other people with whom they work. This will hold true for traditional employees as well as independent contractors who will continue to make up a larger and larger part of workforce.

Don't wait for this new world of employment, prepare yourself now to get feedback from others that will help you develop into powerful person you can be. First, begin to change way you feel about receiving feedback. Listen to messages you get from those close to you: your spouse, children, close friends, other family members. Write them down and consider them as food for thought. Begin to analyze common pieces of feedback objectively and develop ideas about what you might do if you wanted to change their perceptions.

A key factor to remember about all feedback: it is one opinion coming from another individual's unique perspective. It is up to you to consider it thoughtfully, compare it to other feedback you have received and do something positive with it. It is impossible for us to see ourselves as others see us, but very important that we don't allow these blind spots to jeopardize wonderful opportunities.