Performance Reviews with a Magical Prompting Twist

Rob Anderton
May 27
2 min read

Updated: Aug 15

Avoiding a Howler of a Performance Review

A person in a school robe looks shocked as a magical red envelope explodes with sparks in front of them at a dining table, surrounded by peers.

Sometimes it feels like you’ve only just closed out one performance cycle before another one rolls in. Endless requests, forms to fill, and the occasional awkward self-assessment. There’s no denying performance reviews and regular feedback are essential to our professional development. Whether it’s understanding how we’re showing up, growing in knowledge and capability, or identifying where we need to level up. But with back-to-back meetings, deadlines, and never-ending to-do lists, traditional performance management can often feel more like a chore than a chance for reflection or a kick-starter for growth,

What if we could turn feedback into something magical?

A man with a beard wears a tall, brown, wrinkled hat in a dimly lit hall with arched windows and glowing lanterns, eyes closed.

Cue the Sorting Hat. In the midst of delivering a comprehensive Microsoft 365 Copilot learning programme, and just ahead of a performance review cycle, a colleague shared a prompt that completely changed how I approached self-reflection. It created what I shall now call "a Remembrall moment". The prompt was clever, creative, and if I’m completely honest, b****y brilliant! It went something like this:

“You are the Sorting Hat from Hogwarts. Using my recent activity across Teams, Outlook, and Copilot over the past two weeks, analyse my communication style, decision-making patterns, collaboration habits, and leadership traits. Based on this, assign me a character from Harry Potter and assign me to one of the four Hogwarts houses—Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Justify your choice with specific behavioural insights and include a quote from and in the style of the Sorting Hat to support your conclusion.”

As prompts go, this one hit a sweet spot. With Copilot seamlessly embedded across my everyday apps (Teams, Outlook, Word, and more), it painted a cracking portrait of how I show up and the strengths I display.

My Magical Revelation

According to the wise old hat, I’m most like Professor Remus Lupin, empathetic, quietly influential, and with a knack for guiding others through complexity. And my house? Ravenclaw. Apparently, my curiosity, creativity, and love of structured problem-solving gave me away.

A smiling person in a black and blue robe in a candlelit hall, surrounded by clapping peers. Joyful mood, medieval setting.

What I loved most was how Copilot structured its response, taking note of the expectations I'd set out in my prompt. Each observation came with references (direct examples from my recent work history) so I could see how it formed its conclusions. I could then challenge them, reflect on them, or simply nod along in agreement.

The Prompt Chooses the Prompter

Potter puns aside, if you’re dreading your next round of performance management or personal development planning, give this prompt a go. Ask Copilot to don the Sorting Hat and give you a magic mirror of your own to reflect your working self.

It might just make the whole experience, well, enjoyable. And who knows, you could discover traits you hadn’t noticed or strengths that deserve more time in the spotlight.

It would be great to see in the comments: What character did you get? Which house were you sorted into? And did it spark your own "Remembrall moment"?

Because if we have to do performance reviews, we might as well make them magical.

Credits

Author: Rob Anderton

Editorial: Rob Anderton / OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT 4o [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

Images: OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT 4o [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat