While your boss may share some valuable feedback during your performance review, they may also share criticisms, negative opinions or low ratings that you believe are unfair or inconsistent with your job performance.

The good news: in most companies, it is perfectly acceptable to appeal the ratings in a performance evaluation. But even when the data clearly supports your perspective, how you go about challenging your boss’s opinion can be tricky.

To help you deal with these types of issues without damaging your relationship with your boss, here are some of the safest and most effective ways to rebut or challenge the comments or conclusions you disagree with in your performance review.

Be Calm and Clarify

Avoid the temptation to jump straight into a rebuttal or counterargument. Instead, remain calm. Thank your manager for the feedback and explain that it is your goal and intent to meet or exceed expectations in every aspect of your job. Then ask for specifics to help you understand the context and the reasons behind the criticism or poor rating.

“Do not take it personally,” advised Sharla Beeken, learning development trainer and coach consultant at Balance. Hearing negative comments in a performance review is unfortunately the expected norm, she added.

The first step is to clarify if it is a skill or behavior that needs improvement or modification. For example, let’s say your boss thinks you’re too negative or that you aren’t good at handling disagreements with stakeholders. Ask for specifics so you can understand the context or the examples that shaped this conclusion.

Remember, this is your boss’s perspective: you could have said or done the same thing in front of 10 people and each one may perceive it differently. If they can’t give you specifics, let them know you would appreciate it the minute something is said or done that comes across as negative so you can address it.

As the session winds down, let your boss know that you disagree with some or all of their evaluations and that you would like a day or two to think it over and respond. Refrain from signing anything, at least until you make a formal rebuttal and have a chance to talk things through.

In most companies, you can choose not to sign your performance review if you feel it is inaccurate, advised Velera Wilson, leadership development expert, founder and CEO of Positive Identity LLC. But make sure to check your company’s specific practices and the fine print on the bottom of the form because you may only be confirming that you have received the document, not that you agree with the evaluation.

Prepare a Rebuttal

It’s fairly easy to refute objective performance measures around traditional tasks and activities with data. For software developers, those might include production output, defect rates, bugs fixed, and so on. However, success in software development and many other tech jobs is often subjective and depends on meeting the needs and expectations of stakeholders and your boss.

Plus, performance can be significantly impacted by things outside of your control, including a lack of resources, team or project management effectiveness or changes or additions to a project's requirements. These can all lead to missed deadlines, budget overruns and decreased quality.

When extenuating circumstances affect your performance, you’ll need to justify why you deserve a higher rating. “The burden is on the employee to prove why the rating is unfair,” Wilson explained. You’ll have to gather pertinent data and explain the rationale for your request.

The best practice is generally to present your findings in-person first, which allows for direct interaction with your boss and the ability to address questions or concerns immediately, making concessions when appropriate.

To have a quality discussion, actively listen to your boss, share your own perspectives, ask questions and respectfully disagree when necessary, while keeping the conversation focused on the topic at hand. Then summarize the areas where you agree and disagree, propose a list of action items to move forward and reconfirm the results of your discussion in writing.

If you are aware of a shortcoming, own it. Ask your boss how they suggest you modify your behavior or if they could help you improve a specific skill. Try to work together at solving the problem, being cooperative and collaborative at finding solutions. They typically respond well to this approach. It is totally fine to “agree to disagree,” as long as you settle on a way to move forward.

“Accept them for who they are, too, as most of us are doing the best we can with what we know,” Beeken suggested.

Mistakes to Avoid

Doing nothing is a crucial mistake to avoid. Getting mad, telling 10 people that you received an unfair evaluation, and stewing over it for days will likewise not benefit you. Remember it’s the process that’s the problem, not you personally, so fix the process by taking action.

The good news is you have the ability to prevent these situations from occurring in the first place, Wilson pointed out. Make sure that your performance objectives are clear, time-bound and measurable from the outset and that you know what success looks like from your boss’s perspective. Then check in every month or quarter to discuss your performance. If circumstances outside your control impact your performance and priorities shift, you should revisit and update your performance goals and measures.

Proactively managing your career, your performance goals and your relationship with your boss will significantly lower the chances of being blindsided by a bad performance review at the end of the year.