How Do I Know If I'm Doing a Good Job at Redmond?

Time to read: 4 minutes

Article at a glance:

• Redmond doesn’t use traditional performance reviews. Instead, we focus on self-discovery and growth in our core values.
  
• Doing a “good job” here means more than completing tasks; it’s about caring deeply, growing intentionally, and contributing to the team and mission.
  
• Alignment with Redmond’s purpose and values is essential for mutual success. Like any healthy relationship, shared, or at least complementary, core beliefs matter.
  
• You can ask for perspective anytime. Growth here is a conversation, not a scorecard.

We hear this question a lot from Redmond associates. Because we don’t do performance reviews or other formalized feedback, it can be hard to gauge whether you’re on the right track.

Our expectations are also different from most other companies, and a bit ambiguous.

We expect a lot of our Redmond associates. It’s not enough to just show up and do your work (though that is definitely necessary). We want you to care about your work and actively engage in the process of self-discovery. We want you to engage with our core values.

So how can you evaluate how well you’re doing at Redmond?

Are We On the Same Page?

You need to lean in and care about your growth, and care about being a strong team. Not just your immediate team, but as a company.

You also need to care about the mission to elevate the human experience. This isn’t about “compliance,” it’s just that if you don’t believe in what we’re doing, you’re not going to be happy here, and you won’t do your best work.

Think about dating. If you went out with someone and you didn’t share core values, or at least have core values that complement each other, it doesn’t make sense to pursue a relationship. It won’t work.

It’s like that with a company. We’re looking for a good fit, because then we can do so much more together.

That doesn’t mean you never disagree or question. We love questions. We want discourse and to strengthen our culture and our impact.

This is how we do business. This is how we work. If we aren’t aligned in those fundamentals, things probably won’t work out. You won’t be happy, you’ll bring the team down, and you’ll slow down our efforts. And you won’t like it here. There will be friction, conflict, and us vs them mindset.

Leaning In to Our Mission and Core Values

You can ask yourself these questions to get an idea of how much you’re leaning into each core value.

Passion for Contribution

• Do I truly feel that my work elevates the human experience?
• Am I motivated by how I can contribute, or what I can receive?
• Am I actively engaged in learning how to be a better team player?
• Do I love the process, and not just the results?

Learn more about Passion for Contribution here.

Occhiolism

• Am I comfortable spending time in discussion and refraining from jumping to conclusions too early?
• Do I regularly ask myself and others these questions: Here's what I'm seeing and why. What are you seeing that I'm not seeing? What are we not seeing?
• Am I regularly paying attention to how I’m showing up in my collaborations, and striving to improve?
• Do I value curiosity and learning rather than knowing?
• Do I share my ideas seeking further input and perspective, or do I share my ideas in order to “sell” them and get buy-in?  

Learn more about Occhiolism here.

Ubuntu

• Do I make an effort to understand myself?
• Do I assume that others see and feel the same as I do, or do I seek to understand the underlying beliefs, biases, and motives of others?
• Do I have a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for people that are different from me and for jobs that are different from mine?
• Do I understand my part in creating an environment where everyone can thrive and be the best version of themselves?
• Do I understand that the quality of the bond I have with each member of my team will directly affect the quality and efficiency of our work?
• Do I let my jealousy and pride overrule my humility and empathy toward other people, or do I believe we are all in this together in the pursuit of what’s possible?

Learn more about Ubuntu here.

Reflect

• Do I try to get curious about the potential causes of events and behaviors that affect me, without getting attached to answers?
• Do I seek to understand the impact of my ‘help’? Do I regularly ask, “Is what I’m doing actually helpful?”
• Do I pay attention to what I pay attention to?
• Do I schedule time into each day to allow space for things that are important but not urgent, like exploration, growth, and relationships?

Learn more about Reflection here.

Renew

• Do I try to be aware of my needs and seek to meet them to the best of my abilities?
• Do I take time to explore new topics that interest me even if they don't currently apply to my work?
• Do I take time to align myself with my purpose and check that all my endeavors are wholeheartedly aligned?
• Do I give myself and others permission to unfold, grow, evolve, and change?

Learn more about Renewal here.

You don’t have to perfectly know or understand or exemplify every core value, but we want you to lean in.

Reflect on these questions regularly to see where you’re doing well and where you’d like to improve!

What Leaning in is NOT

It’s not about “buying in” to the culture. We don’t want compliance.

Leaning in doesn’t mean you agree with everything we do and say, or that you never question. Ask questions. Bring up issues. We want to learn and grow as individuals and as a company, and we can’t do that in an echo chamber.

We’re also not looking for perfection. Growth is a never-ending process, so of course Redmond will never be perfect.

Becoming Intentional and Aware

If you’re unsure of how you’re doing, you can always ask. If you’re worried about your job, talk to your culture lead or your admin. Ask for a Discovery Check-In or even just a chat to get clarity and direction.

Our vision statement starts with, “We want to live in a world where intentional and aware individuals come together to form exceptional teams.”

This means we’re all striving to become intentional and aware individuals. We’re becoming aware of our strengths and weaknesses, aware of our impact on our teams, and aware of where we’re most helpful.

If you’re moving in that direction, that’s exactly what we love to see.