There are people who are experts at getting the best appraisal done for them no matter what they do or don't.

And then there are those who have the worst appraisals done to them no matter how expert a job they do for their company.

There is a sea change in the way both these kinds of people work or appear to work.

It is the appearance that matters eventually. No matter how one tries to change this scenario of evaluation, one can't.

That's corporate culture.

As aptly said, a teams's individual member's performance is always sub-optimised to achieve the optimum performance of the larger team/group/company.

Thus, the performance evaluation of the teams are kept at a sub-optimum level so that they regularly strive for their optimum performance.

Given this scenario, those who are an expert at getting their appraisal done to their own satisfaction are always those who know how this wheel works.
They fire their guns from the shoulders of those who do all the cleaning up.
So they always are at the level where they can see how fast or slow, those below them are running, trying to stand still.
Thus they are the ones who turn up the speed knob of the treadmill for those below them. That's sub-optimising the performance of their sub-ordinates.

It's like the trainer training the animals to do tricks at the circus.

Those whose optimum performance is portrayed as being sub-optimum, are thus forced to look at themselves at a mirror that is cracked - by their boss.

The boss will never want the sub-ordinate to see the full picture. 'Cos transparency, however desired, is never a part of Corporate culture.

The mirror for the boss is always cracked. So no matter how you look at it, you will always be asked to look into the cracked mirror. The only way you learn to deal with it is by learning a trick or two from those who get their appraisal done to the best of their satisfaction.

You start mirroring your boss. Your boss sends work down to you, you send it down to someone else. Your boss asks for reports, you ask down for reports. But you need to ask your boss how (s)he sends information up the ladder, and you learn to do the same too.

Well, maybe this is how I see this whole circus.

The truth if it really exists - I am still looking for it Out there... searching behind the cracked mirrors