When was the last time you had a performance review? Many REALTORS® don’t ever have them, but you can’t improve if you don’t know how you’re doing.

Don’t wait for your broker or manager to set up a review; do it yourself. Spend a few minutes writing down your successes. What has worked for you so far and why do you think you’ve had such success? Now jot down everything that didn’t work, and why you think it didn’t work.

There are five skills that may lie at the root of every problem you wrote, and they’re skills that can be the keys to a glowing review.

Adaptation

If you’re facing problems in your career, it may be that you’re not adapting to some sort of change in the marketplace or in the profession. Performance review documents usually include phrases like:

“Employee demonstrates an ability to adapt to new or changing situations,” or “Employee demonstrates a willingness to accept and deal with change.” Make sure you can answer those questions with a yes.

Training

Pull out the microscope and put your skills under it. What experience, training, and education can help you be better at you job? Look back at your list of problems and see which ones might be solved with better skills.

Creativity

When change presents itself, are you able to bring resources to the table in a creative, useful way to handle change? Can you be innovative to overcome obstacles? If not, look for real-life examples of how top producers have tackled and responded to change. MBA students often read case studies for a reason: they give enduring and useful lessons on how to be more creative in the face of change.

Communication

Poor communication causes problems almost daily. Return to your list of items that didn’t work so well and ask yourself if unclear or poor communication was a culprit. All of your communication—written and verbal—with clients, coworkers, prospects, and so forth must be clear and concise.

Productivity

Are you reaching your goals regularly and consistently? Is your work acceptable, or better yet, award-worthy? Always aim for the latter.