“The speed of the boss is the speed of the team.” Lee Iacocca 1924-, American Businessman, former CEO of Chrysler

It’s time for the annual performance review with your boss. Your entire career, especially the last twelve months, is being laid out in the open like a fish filet. You hope, as you bare your soul that this will be monetarily productive. You choose your words carefully, picking through them like a scholar examines a lexicon. You don’t want to omit anything nor do you want speak words that will be seized upon like a fox in a hen house. It’s like a game of chess or a poker hand but the stakes are your possible raise on the table.

You banter back in forth, in this dance of words. Your unwitting dance partner is also your superior as he (she) leads you across the dance room floor. You must not misstep, as the dance judge is also your colleague. You are lead from corner to corner of the dance floor as you cover every aspect of your job. Like a debutant at a coming out party you smile and pretend that no one notices that your slip is showing. You have very little room to wiggle as the other dancer’s embrace becomes uncomfortable.

This is your glorious time, you have prepared for the final moments and the grand finale. Have you prepared enough? You feel the moment, the movement of the tango dip where everything hangs in the balance. Will you get unceremoniously dropped to the floor like a novice at a dance studio or will you come away with the first prize trophy?

The two of you shake hands; baseball players at a game’s end. Your scorecard is handed to you. Increase or no increase, that is the question? Wait! It’s all been predetermined beforehand. You have merely gone through the motions. Everything has been neatly typed out ahead of time. There is no leeway. “The decisions of the Judges are final.” There is no timeout for a review of the play, except in your own mind. You choose to play it over and over again. You relive every moment, every sentence.

You will get your chance again next year; practice that tango dip routine religiously. Dancers must perform flawlessly.

K.