While you're busy reviewing employees and organisational performance, have you taken a moment to review yourself? Have you achieved what you set out to accomplish this year, and what lessons will guide you into the next?
CHRO East Africa spoke to six HR leaders across East Africa about their personal performance reviews and the introspection that shapes their leadership.
Caroline Karoki, head of people and culture, ALN
Caroline takes a deliberate approach to personal goal-setting, one that extends beyond just professional achievements. Reflecting on 2025, she's satisfied with her progress on the goals that mattered most to her. Her year was anchored by two key objectives: expanding her influence as a thought leader and strengthening her organisation's leadership pipeline.
"I've achieved my main goals to a large extent," she says. "I wanted to have an impact beyond my regular borders and contribute as a thought leader. I participated in a Zamara conference and a panel discussion on Africa and AI, which ticked that box."
Building her mid-level leadership team proved equally successful. But what stands out in Caroline's philosophy is her embrace of flexibility and the organic nature of achievement. She's learnt that rigid adherence to initial plans can be counterproductive.
"Not always do I hit every single goal I've set up for myself. Your targets change," she explains. "Sometimes you might set a target that the universe is not aligned to at that particular moment. It's important to be flexible enough to change those goals as needed as long as you're still heading in the right direction."
James Koraro, head of people and culture, Transnep Insurance Brokers
For James, self-review is deeply connected to the tangible outcomes his work produces. His approach is pragmatic, focused on measuring visible impact rather than abstract metrics. This year has seen him contribute significantly both within his organisation and across the broader HR community in the region.
"I review my personal performance by measuring the impact of my work," he says. "I contributed to the Zamara regional HR Summit and introduced a high-performance culture at Highlands Drinks."
At Transnep, where he's relatively new, James operates with clear timelines and deliverables. His 90-day roadmap upon joining was a concrete plan for transformation. The work centres on establishing systems that will shape the organisation's culture for years to come.
"I'm focused on rolling out the performance management framework and ensuring compliance, driven by the philosophy to 'Do it now because later becomes never,'" he explains.
Rabina Masanja Rienks, executive head, people and culture, Stanbic Bank Tanzania
Rabina describes 2025 as a year of consolidation and foundation-building. With a team that was 70 percent new, the challenge was creating the capability to execute at a high level. This required patience, intentional development, and a focus on deepening business understanding across her function.
"2025 was a solid, though challenging, year," she reflects. "I'm proud of how the team supported the business, achieving a firm place at the table."
The year saw significant wins, including the successful rollout of the Reignite Master Class, a comprehensive culture campaign, and crucial psychological safety training. She says these were business interventions that demonstrated the function's strategic value. As she looks ahead, Rabina is thinking about how to push boundaries further.
"Looking ahead, I'm willing to pivot and see how we can take more calculated risks, especially in the learning and development space, to drive more meaningful initiatives in 2026," she says.
Lillian Mburu, head of HR, NG Energy Access
When Lillian joined NG Energy Access, the mandate was crystal clear: transform the culture. She notes that this wasn't about incremental change or polishing existing practices, it was about fundamentally shifting how people thought about their work and their organisation. A year later, that transformation is the lens through which she measures her own success.
"Yes, actually I remember when I was interviewing for this role, the country director was very specific on what he wanted," Lillian recalls. "He really wanted culture transformation and seeing that come to life has been so fulfilling for me."
For her, the markers of achievement are found in the conversations, the shifts in mindset, and the visible changes in how people show up at work. Monthly training sessions have become opportunities to witness real-time transformation.
"When we do monthly training and then the next session they tell me, 'This is what I have implemented, I've seen it,' and then we start seeing them differently in the workplace, I'm like, 'Now I can go home,'" she explains. "Because if I meet you and we are here for five years and you are still the same, I am still the same, we have failed. We are there for impact."
Susan Kabedha, head of HR, Prudential Uganda
Susan's self-evaluation is refreshingly pragmatic. For her, personal performance is inseparable from the outcomes she's accountable for delivering. The metrics she tracks for the organisation, attrition rates, engagement scores, retention figures are simultaneously a mirror reflecting her own effectiveness as a leader.
"Self-review is tied to the KPIs like attrition and employee engagement that I'm accountable for," she explains. "It provides an opportunity for reflection if the results are not trending as desired, even if my personal work plan was executed well."
When asked to rate her year, Susan is honest and specific: 80 percent. The hard metrics look good, attrition sitting at 6 percent against a target of 10 percent and engagement at 69 percent against a goal of 70 percent. But Susan knows that numbers don't tell the whole story. The ‘softer issues’, as she calls them, remain areas requiring continuous attention and innovation.
"Achieving 100 percent human happiness is impossible, but we need to make progress on these issues," she acknowledges. "They are essential for making the company a great place to work."
Lynn Muhangi, CHRO, Acorns Group of International Schools
Lynn's approach to self-review is deeply personal and intentional. Rather than waiting for formal annual reviews, she's created her own system of accountability that spans both professional and personal dimensions of her life. The practice of writing things down has become central to how she tracks progress and maintains perspective.
"I think recently one of the things that has been very important to me is setting my own personal goals," she says. "It might not happen at the beginning of the year, but somewhere along the way I like to write down what I want to achieve in my work life, in my personal life, fitness goals, anything."
The power of this practice, Lynn has discovered, lies not in perfect execution but in the ability to reflect and recalibrate. Life intervenes, priorities shift and goals that seemed paramount six months ago might need adjustment. What matters is maintaining forward momentum and recognising progress when it happens.
"Sometimes you forget about it for a couple of weeks, a couple of months, and when you go back to it, you're able to check yourself and see how far you are," she reflects. "A lot of the time we accomplish these goals without knowing. You say, 'In one year, I want to be at this level,' and it happens organically and you fail to appreciate the progress that you've made."
