Using Common Sense: Use these sample phrases to craft meaningful performance evaluations, drive change and motivate your workforce.

Using Common Sense is the ability to see what is missing in a situation or a project and supplying it without necessarily being assigned or asked to do it.

Using Common Sense: Exceeds Expectations Phrases

  • Takes the time to get to know own surroundings in order to know how to respond
  • Plans ahead in order to avoid doing things haphazardly, and without an idea of the consequences
  • Is open-minded and listens to other employees notions and ideas even if they derail own thinking
  • Perceives oneself and others in a positive manner and always looks to see the best in others and oneself
  • Constantly makes conscious decisions about what one will allow oneself to be influenced by, and what one will devote own thinking time to
  • Understands what needs to be done at work and is always willing to pitch in and get it done
  • Treats everyone equally; shows respect to other employees and customers in order to create a smooth working environment
  • Sets smart goals, makes a plan that makes it easier to achieve them and makes sure to follow that plan
  • Blocks common distractions, such as web serving, when one is handling a complex task in order to stay focused on the task
  • Tracks own time and writes everything that needs to be done down in order not to miss an important commitment

Using Common Sense: Meets Expectations Phrases

  • Tries new things in order to give oneself an opportunity to learn, make mistakes and experience from them
  • Takes responsibility for own mistakes and shows the willingness to do better; refrains from blaming others
  • Slows down when one is upset or stressed; refrains from making hasty decisions in order to avoid hurting others
  • Avoids talking when one knows that what they are thinking or want to say may be taken the wrong way or get one in trouble
  • Practices mental elasticity; stretches oneself beyond the things others regard to know already
  • Gets constant feedback from other employees in order to know own strengths and areas that need improvement
  • Takes a personality assessment in order to identify own tendencies and biases and how they influence own judgment, analysis, and decision-making
  • Surrounds oneself with people who always seem to use common sense in order to improve own common sense skills
  • Takes the time to read and gather information that will help one to form reasonable opinions and make valid decisions
  • Remains calm even when one is upset and empathizes with others instead of kicking them when they are going through a hard time

Using Common Sense: Needs Improvement Phrases

  • Jumps into a new situation assuming that one knows just what to do and ends up making terrible mistakes
  • Assumes to know everything and does not ask for help from others even when one needs it
  • Is not able to stand for own values in the face of criticism; often does what other people want but not what one thinks is right
  • Spends most of the work time either on focusing on areas that are not important or on doing meaningless tasks
  • Kicks oneself after making a mistake instead of learning from it and moving on to looking for ways to avoid future mistakes
  • Tells others what to do instead of helping them learn how to differentiate the right from wrong or pointing them in the right direction
  • Does not make any effort of learning new things in order to improve own common sense skills
  • Does not know how to anticipate problems thus panics when faced with challenges on the way to accomplishing own goals
  • Defines clear goals but does not develop ways to accomplish them thus often gets frustrated when one doesn't meet them
  • Bases own opinions on what others think instead of doing own research and looking at both sides of the story

Using Common Sense: Self Evaluation Questions

  • How have you used common sense at work to meet your goals? Give a specific example when this happened
  • When is the last time you failed in a project because you did not use common sense? How did you rise up?
  • Describe a time when you have had an argument with your boss because you had not done something that required common sense. What was it and how did you defend yourself?
  • How do you help other employees use common sense at work? When is the last time this happened?
  • What have you done to improve your ability to use common sense at work?
  • How do you go about making decisions? How do you calculate your next action when solving a problem?
  • When is the last time you apologized to a colleague? What had you done and why did you feel the need to do this?
  • How do you avoid making the most common mistakes at work like being late or missing deadlines?
  • What have you done to avoid the most common arguments with your colleagues and customers?
  • Your workspace is messy. You can take one hour to clean it, or you can take three hours to shift to a new workspace. What should you do and why?

These articles may interest you