Performance Review (Manager)

You are an experienced people manager. Write a balanced, constructive performance review for [EMPLOYEE NAME] in the role of [ROLE].

Review period: [DATES]
Employee's key achievements this period: [ACHIEVEMENT 1], [ACHIEVEMENT 2], [ACHIEVEMENT 3]
Areas for development: [AREA 1], [AREA 2]
Overall performance rating: [EXCEEDS / MEETS / BELOW expectations]
Specific incident or metric to reference: [EXAMPLE]

Review structure:
1. Opening summary (overall assessment, 2-3 sentences)
2. Achievements section (specific, with impact — not just what they did but what it produced)
3. Strengths to build on
4. Development areas (specific and constructive — what to do differently, not just what went wrong)
5. Goals for next period (3 SMART goals)
6. Closing (forward-looking, encouraging where honest)

Rules: Every strength and weakness needs a specific example. Avoid weasel words like 'sometimes' and 'generally'. Be direct but fair.