Savannah Guthrie's performance review: why she deserves a break

How would you feel if your first performance review in your new job was printed on the front page of a newspaper or blasted across the Internet? Whether the review was good or bad, it would be pretty gut-wrenching to have the results made public before you even had a chance to gain confidence in the job.

So I have to wonder what would it be like to be Savannah Guthrie, who officially replaced Ann Curry as Matt Lauer's co-host on The Today Show. Less than a week into the job, the headline of USA Today read: Ratings: 'GMA' trounces 'Today' with Savannah Guthrie. ABC's rival Good Morning America has beaten The Today Show in each of the three days since Guthrie officially replaced Ann Curry as Matt Lauer's co-host.

Plenty of us have stepped into positions in the workplace where the odds were stacked against us. In Guthrie's case, viewers may tune out because they're ticked off at the way the Ann Curry exit went down. Guthrie seems to be handling this public scrutiny with class. She even admitted to being nervous her first today in the co-anchor seat.

Executive producer Jim Bell vowed NBC will be patient: "We couldn't be happier with the new Today anchor team, and the fresh new feel of the show," he said in a statement. "It's impossible to draw conclusions after a few days of unofficial ratings. We just made a big change that we didn't take lightly, and we are in this for the long-run."

Reading this article, I thought of my first performance review. Six weeks into my first job, my editor suggested I leave journalism. Fortunately, I believed in myself regardless of what he had to say. From what I've seen, performance reviews are almost always painful experiences for those giving and receiving them. In Guthrie's case, millions of viewers are giving the peformance review.

In business, most of us look for lucky breaks, do our best, and stay confident in our abilities. We want more than three days to prove ourselves on the job. We want more than three months to prove ourselves on the job. I plan to tune in and give Guthrie a chance.

Have you ever been the person to step into a new job at an awkward time? Have you ever been judged in a job without really being given a chance? How did you handle it?

Comments

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Pretty interesting to watch. However, according to me, she deserves to be there. Nice personality. What do you think? Luck is fact, but yet things can happen. You may want to visit our site: http://www.foreclosureconnections.com/

Posted by: Arifur Rahman | July 15, 2012 at 04:35 PM

An empty chair would have been better tha Ann Curry! Savannah Guthrie is bright, spontaneous, self-assured and brings a youthful outlook and appearance to Today.

Posted by: Howard | July 16, 2012 at 07:45 AM

Completely agree with Howard. Savannah is smart, fun, confident and brings a fresh youthful air to the show. Great move.

Posted by: GAL | July 16, 2012 at 12:00 PM

Savannah seems capable, but she's incredibly milk toast. Sorry to say this, but she's like a talking mannequin to me. There has to be a level of charisma as a host - and she lacks it. In fact, I can't tell the difference between her and the lady who reads the news.

Posted by: TR | July 18, 2012 at 08:15 PM

I agree. Savannah is a nice girl but pretty boring. I wish they would have pulled in Lester and Jenna. Jenna's a fire cracker, boy! I can see how she might tick people off sometimes, but she's definitely brighten the place up a bit.

Posted by: CT | July 19, 2012 at 11:12 AM

I'm a Jenna fan, too. We will have to see how things work out but I do hope people give Savannah a chance.

Posted by: Cindy Goodman | July 19, 2012 at 11:54 AM

I have to be honest, I really don't like Savannah as co-host. In fact, my husband and I have decided to switch to GMA. We have always watched Today, but now that Ms. Guthrie's is next to Matt, we no longer want to watch our favorite show. To be quite frank, I don't think she is "celebrity" enough to hold the show, even as a co-host

Posted by: julianne ramos | July 27, 2012 at 02:23 PM

My words for Savananah are she is too demure, READS her scripted questions as if she were a bad actor, no spontaneity or spunk. And, she calls all young ladies "guys"...horrible. It's like she has no class or know-how. Yes, Jenna rocks!!

Posted by: Debbie | July 28, 2012 at 08:21 PM

I am another longtime watcher of the Today show who is switching to GMA. While I enjoyed Savannah Guthrie's segments on the show, I can not deal with the silliness between her and Matt Lauer. It is very hard to take the show seriously when they both seem to be so light-hearted about most everything. I looked forward to seeing Ann Curry every morning on Today. She has so much journalistic integrity and approached her stories w professionalism and personality. She evidences a deep compassion for people who are suffering that I don't think Ms. Guthrie will ever be able to show. I now have no reason to continue watching Today but surely will be watching for Ann Curry whenever and wherever she is reporting.

Posted by: Kevin | August 04, 2012 at 02:31 PM