Q: How many assessors does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: One, obviously, because change is something we do TO lightbulbs.
Q: How many assessors does it take to improve someone else’s performance?
A: It doesn’t matter how many assessors you have or how good they are; improvement-through-assessment isn’t something we can do TO others.
For assessment to work (i.e., improve performance), we must understand that the person being assessed is always in control. Not because they should be, based on some kind of ethical reasoning, but because they literally are. Assessment feedback is accepted only when an assessee trusts and respects the assessor and is useful only if the assessee is willing to use the feedback.
While someone may accept assessment-based feedback if is it simply given to them, unasked (a kind of “drive-by assessment” or “assess-and-run”), it is always more effective when they have requested it or, at the very least, agreed to be assessed.
Some relationships automatically/implicitly lend themselves to the use of assessment: mentor/mentee, educator/learner, parent/child. These are special relationships because one person is deeply invested in helping the other improve. But even in these instances, assessment is only effective if the performer has trust and respect for the assessor and willingness to use their feedback.
Without trust and respect, assessment feedback given by even the most talented and well-intentioned assessor doesn’t feel like help. It feels like you’re a lightbulb that someone thinks needs to be changed.
