Leadership Performance Review Examples & Phrases in 2025

Q: How do you set SMART goals for team leaders?

SMART goals for leadership should be: Specific : It means they are focused on a result. Measurable : They should be tied to data or observable outcomes. Achievable : They have to be realistic and based on role, team maturity, and resources. Relevant : It is important your goals are connected to leadership growth or business objectives. Time-bound : The goals need to be set within a clear timeline. Here is the example of a SMART goal for leadership performance reviews: “By the end of Q2, you should host 3 cross-department workshops to improve alignment on product strategy and reduce project rework by 15%.”

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Discover how to build effective leadership performance review examples for your management team. Examine the core evaluation components, study tips, and learn how to automate assessments with an advanced AI meeting note-taker.

Does your company leadership bring a positive change or prevent employees from growing? Let’s be honest, the difference between effective and ineffective management is no longer about soft skills, but how well they influence business outcomes. Regular performance reviews appear to be the perfect way to assess how well managers do their job. However, there’s always a complication: most evaluations are vague or overly polite. They fail to measure strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, or conflict resolution. Even worse, they rarely give leaders the feedback they deserve.

So, how do you host evaluations for managers? Most importantly, how do you structure your leadership reviews? This article will answer all the questions. I suggest that we begin!

Why Leadership Reviews Are Essential

I tend to think that leaders hold the company’s future, and one decision can either bring success closer or set the organization on the wrong path. Unclear communication, low morale, or passive management cause enough damage even in the early stages. When these escalate, companies lose top performers, money, and employee trust.

The good thing is that you can avoid all these complications by hosting effective leadership evaluations. Here are the key benefits you get aside from the ones I have already mentioned:

Alignment of managers’ behavior with company culture: Great leaders often model the right behavior, communication style, and decision-making process. Reviews ensure that.
Strengthened connection to business outcomes: Assessments also help to connect managers to business goals. When people understand what’s expected of them, they can adjust their strategies.
Improved leadership development: Performance evaluations help to grow existing managers and improve their weaknesses. For example, addressing poor presentation skills or a fear of public speaking.
Reinforced accountability: Your managerial assessments can send a message to the whole organization: leaders are also held accountable. It can foster psychological safety and improve employee trust in the company.

Key Leadership Competencies to Evaluate

The benefits are settled, so the next question arises: What qualities and skills do effective leadership performance review examples include? The competencies you choose define whether the evaluation is comprehensive or vague.

I suggest that we dig deeper and discuss some of the key components of a good assessment for a managerial team.

Conflict Resolution and Psychological Safety

While good leadership focuses solely on resolving existing problems, great leaders try to prevent them from happening. And what’s a better way than a safe work environment? Most conflicts can be resolved before they escalate, provided a manager is aware of the issue, so employees’ trust is a core ingredient. When people feel safe to share their concerns and issues, even if they are about the manager themselves, the likelihood of resolving the problem at its early stage increases.

Tip: Ask team members in 360-degree reviews if they feel safe sharing their problems with their manager. Can they share opinions different from those of their leader? Do they feel safe discussing conflicts?

Internal Communication

Around 43% of employees say their leaders are not aligned, and nearly 40% report feeling directionless (Korn Ferry). These numbers reflect all the impact communication has, making it a core component of a great review. It assesses how well a leader shares updates, provides specific feedback, and keeps their team aligned with broader company objectives.

Assess how information flows across the team. Ask yourself: Do team members feel informed and involved? Or do they often double-check? It is a sure sign of unclear communication, which can lead to low employee motivation and missed team goals.

Change Leadership and Agile Approach

Change leadership is a good way to assess how well a person communicates updates, manages resistance, and keeps the team focused during transitions. These days, when companies adopt new AI tools or restructure whole departments, managers need to be agile.

Tip: Evaluate how the leader handled the last shift, for example, tool migration or organizational change. Were they confident or rather chaotic? Use AI meeting note-takers such as Sembly to analyze information.

Strategic Thinking and Decision-Making in Uncertain Conditions

Lastly, there is strategic vision and the decision-making process. The former evaluates the ability to align priorities with long-term business objectives and adapt the strategy when they change. The latter assesses whether the leader can take calculated risks and stand by their choices. Together, this combination ensures the manager contributes to future goals and makes well-informed decisions.

Leadership Performance Review Examples

Here is what you came here for: leadership performance review examples. In this section, you will find 10+ phrases for your assessments based on different components. All the comments include variables, making it easier for you to adjust them to your needs.

Positive Review Comments

The best leadership review examples combine wins and failures. A brief celebration motivates leaders to grow, provided it is done right. Instead of vague compliments such as “You’re a great manager”, highlight specific actions that influence employee engagement or business outcomes.

Here are performance review phrases for leadership you can use:

“[Leader Name] consistently aligns [Team Name]’s priorities with company objectives, which results in a [%] improvement in [Performance Area].”
“[Leader Name] encourages a positive feedback culture by holding [Feedback Frequency] syncs and promoting openness during team meetings.”
“[Leader Name] creates an environment of trust where employees feel safe sharing their ideas and concerns.”

Constructive Feedback Examples

Feedback only brings value as long as it is constructive, and leaders need it as much as other employees do. The goal here is to improve performance. Whether it’s communication gaps, poor prioritization, or low visibility into team dynamics, constructive comments can help managers adjust their behavior.

Traditionally, I have prepared another set of leadership feedback examples:

“Communication with the {Team Name} has been inconsistent. A structured approach, such as [Proposed Solution], can improve clarity.”
“[Leader Name] focuses on short-term wins without considering long-term strategy. Encouraged to connect {Project Name} to the broader picture.”
“Leadership style is rather autonomous. Consider introducing more coaching touchpoints for {Team Member} to support skill development.”

Comments on Strengths & Achievements

What’s a better way to celebrate achievements and highlight strengths than a performance appraisal? The key here is not just to praise effort, but to show the value each contribution brought. It motivates high performers and shows others what excellence looks like.

Here are a few leadership evaluation examples that can help you:

“Successfully led a [Project Name] across [Names of Departments], completing it with [Indicator of Success].”
“[Leader Name] demonstrated exceptional crisis management during [Event Name], coordinating [Involved Teams]. The issue was resolved within [Timeframe].”

Comments on Weaknesses

Positive feedback is easy. After all, what can go wrong? Now the comments on weaknesses and failures require preparation. The key is to avoid general phrases such as “poor communicator.” Instead, try to focus on what the weakness affects and how it can be fixed.

Here are a few more leadership feedback examples:

“[Leader Name] has a tendency to micromanage [Team Name], which occasionally negatively impacts the team’s autonomy.”
“[Leader Name] struggles with prioritization during [Busy Season] and often takes on several projects simultaneously.”
“Conflict avoidance led to unresolved issues within [Team Name]. Recommend initiating feedback conversations to support healthier dynamics.”

You can use these as a foundation for your reviews and customize the phrases by pasting information into the variables.

Sample Leadership Goals for Performance Reviews

Now that you know what to say, we can discuss goal setting, so managers know what’s expected of them. I have prepared a few templates for both short-term and long-term objectives, so you can find yours among the options. Let’s dive in!

Short-term leadership goal

Short-term goals usually focus on immediate changes in behavior or skill development. These are ideal for quarterly reviews or probationary periods, so target objectives that can be reached within 30-90 days.

In case you do not know where to start, I have got a few examples of leadership goals for performance reviews:

Increasing feedback frequency: “Over the next [Timeframe], [Leader Name] will hold [Frequency] one-on-one meetings and share feedback at least [Frequency]; tracked via [Resource].”

Strengthening delegation: “By the end of [Period], [Leader Name] will delegate at least [Number of Key Projects] to each direct report, with [Frequency] coaching check-ins, to improve a sense of ownership.”

Improving team communication: “Within the next [Timeframe], [Leader Name] will implement a standardized communication routine. The goal is to reduce misalignment across [Team Name]; measured by a [%] decrease in repeated questions on [Tool Name].”

These examples of leadership goals for performance reviews use the SMART approach. As a result, they are easy to understand and more likely to influence professional growth.

Long-term leadership goals

Unlike short-term goals that revolve around behavior, long-term goals focus on business objectives. Think of them as a complex process that requires determination, consistency, and time.

Let’s take a closer look at the examples of SMART goals you can use for leadership performance reviews:

Leading an initiative on team culture: “Within the next [Timeframe], [Leader Name] will launch and sponsor a [Workplace Culture Initiative]. The impact should be tracked via employee engagement scores and team satisfaction surveys.”
Improving cross-functional influence: “By [Timeframe], [Leader Name] will initiate and lead at least [Number] collaborative initiatives with [Department Names] to improve alignment and reduce project delays by [%].”

Think of leadership goals as key to helping leaders grow in ways that move the team and the business forward. The more precise and measurable the objectives, the higher the likelihood of employees reaching them.

Templates for Leadership Reviews

By this point, you know key components of managerial evaluations and phrases you can use. It is about time we examine what effective performance review examples for leadership look like.

Performance reviews at the leadership level carry weight for the entire organization and should be taken seriously. With the right structure in place, they become the force driving well-informed decisions, a better culture, and a smarter strategy.

How Sembly AI Can Automate Leadership Performance Reviews

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of leadership performance evaluations? Most likely, it is reviewing hours of meetings, checking in with stakeholders, and trying to remember previous reviews. It is an exhausting process that takes time professionals rarely have. That’s when Sembly AI changes the game. The app carefully analyzes the leader’s behavior, including their sentiment, activity, and overall performance based on all available information. As a result, each meeting becomes a rich source of performance data, making your evaluations less like guesswork and more like reality.

However, the true Sembly’s potential lies in its advanced AI functionality. Not only does it capture and understand meeting information, but it also generates comprehensive documents within minutes. Here is how it works in practice:

Go to the “My AI Chat” Semblian 2.0 section in the side menu.
Click the “New AI Chat” button in the upper-right corner.
Enter “Generate a comprehensive performance review document for [Leader Name] based on conversations from [Timeframe] till [Timeframe]. Analyze their sentiment, activity, strong and weak points. Add suggestions.”
Enjoy the result!

Wrapping Up

Successful companies aren’t built by chance, but leaders who know how to reflect, adapt, and lead with intention. However, even the best development plans fall short without a consistent way of tracking progress. That’s why having a structured appraisal process is no longer optional.

In this article, we have examined leadership performance review examples, learned how to set SMART goals, and how to automate assessment with AI. I hope it brings your team closer to the success they deserve. Good luck!

FAQ

What are the key components of performance reviews for leadership teams?

Effective leadership performance reviews should serve as a comprehensive analysis of a manager’s work. The key is to assess different aspects of their work, aside from the standard areas such as teamwork.

Here are the examples you can use:

Core competencies: Strategic thinking, decision-making, team development, and stakeholder management.
Behavioral feedback: Examples of communication style, collaboration, and conflict resolution.
Goal progress: Measurable outcomes tied to KPIs and business impact.
Development areas: Specific improvement opportunities supported by coaching or training.
360° input: Peer and team feedback, engagement survey data, and upward feedback.

How do you set SMART goals for team leaders?

SMART goals for leadership should be:

Specific: It means they are focused on a result.
Measurable: They should be tied to data or observable outcomes.
Achievable: They have to be realistic and based on role, team maturity, and resources.
Relevant: It is important your goals are connected to leadership growth or business objectives.
Time-bound: The goals need to be set within a clear timeline.

Here is the example of a SMART goal for leadership performance reviews: “By the end of Q2, you should host 3 cross-department workshops to improve alignment on product strategy and reduce project rework by 15%.”

What are the tips for writing effective leadership reviews?

Here are the top 5 tips for writing impactful performance reviews for managers:

Avoid vague praise. Instead, use specific examples and measurable impact.
Balance strengths and development areas.
Link behavior to outcomes. Show how leadership style affects team performance, morale, or business goals
Use structured templates and align them with company values.
Incorporate feedback loops: reference peer, employee, or stakeholder comments for balance.

What do teamwork and leadership performance review examples focus on?

These examples usually focus on how a leader builds trust within the team, resolves conflicts, promotes inclusion, recognition, & psychological safety, helps others grow through coaching and feedback, and models behaviors that support a healthy team culture.

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