Fighting back against an unfair performance review?

I just received a shockingly mediocre performance rating. I was caught completely off guard and after taking some time to process, I am seriously contemplating pushing back. 

I’ve been on this team for 4 years, while my new manager has been around for less than one. All of my reviews in years past have been superb.

My manager cited my performance as being very good, and could not offer any concrete examples of why my actual numerical rating was so bad. She kept stumbling, saying “oh it’s the curve” blah blah blah. I am actually so fucking heated. 

Overall, we do not see eye to eye; she ignores all of my emails and is generally impossible to communicate with. She is a walking black box. I can not figure her out. 

What do you think? Is it worth fighting back? I know in the grand scheme of things this is not a huge deal, but I do not want to sign off on this. I don’t want a downward trend to develop for no legitimate reason.

Also worth noting that I am the only remaining member of the team that was in place one year ago - there has been crazy attrition, and I honestly feel like this is an attempt to push me out too.

5 Comments
 

Is there anyone above her that is familiar with your work in the past? I'd probably talk about the situation with them. Before doing that, I'd make a review of your own for the issues you just listed about how it's challenging to work for her. Basically say "for me to do my best work, I need this and this from you with respect to communication"

 

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