C.Y.A.

[Charles K. Ball]

>May 7, 1996
>
>Dear Friends and Colleagues,
>
>On April 25 my chairman, a clarinetist, wrote of me in the annual
>performance appraisal:
>
>"...I am very concerned however with the number of complaints about the
>quality of tuning and regulation that I receive from students and
>particularly the piano faculty....  Although he may enjoy international
>esteem and admiration by his professional peers, it is unfortunate that
>the quality of his work is seriously questioned by the contingency whom
>he serves."
>
>No specifics of whom, which, where, why or when.

Dear Newton,

I am so sad that this has happened to you. This is so inconsistent with
what we know of your character and abilities.

Having had some training in Performance Evaluation preparation, I can tell
you that it is poor form to bring up reservations about an employee's
performance that have not been previously discussed. If your supervisor had
received complaints about your work, these needed to be discussed with you
at the time; and you should have an opportunity to respond. The Performance
Evaluation can then be used to subsequently track progress toward
established goals. It should not contain undocumented allegations.

The whole purpose of such tools is to help the employee and the supervisor
to track and communicate about performance, including setting goals. If
your supervisor his concerns about your performance in any area, the
evaluation can be used to work together toward addressing those concerns.
In other words, it should be constructive, not chastising.

Also, it is clear that you already, like most of your colleagues,  have
more instruments than you can do justice to. On top of such a workload, we
are also expected to perform concert quality work. How many of the pianists
on your faculty perform at a top concert level? They usually can not while
doing all the other things they are expected to do: teach, serve on
committees, etc.

I would recommend that you explore avenues open to you within the
University: Ombudsman, Personnel Counseller, Employee Assistance Program,
EEO (ADA). In the meantime, you might work with your spervisor to improve
communication, so that concerns are brought to your attention promptly, and
that you are given the opportunity to respond appropriately.

Regards,

Charles

Charles Ball
School of Music
University of Texas at Austin
ckball@mail.utexas.edu