My primary focus is always to discuss the overcoming of hardships and pain for success. We like to discuss the wins as owners and executives because we have to keep fighting. As a protagonist, development is so much fun, because it’s a challenge to get the organization to its best through its biggest asset- people.
That being said, this season has become more and more about tensions we wrestle with in roles of leadership, and lately that is all about what to do about the square pegs in round holes, the people who do not seem to fit.
People become problems on the team for various reasons, so let’s look at some of these key reasons:
The role has outgrown them.
The culture and/or vision has changed.
There is a leadership issue.
They have a lack of clarity.
The problem with people is they are not some widget to turn differently or process to rewrite- they are humans with lives and families and that other f-word…FEELINGS. When so many leaders pride themselves on quick thinking skills to continue moving forward and have reached a certain level of success in that style of management, this is the time when pause is most important.
If you are looking at a problem performer and trying to figure him out, there are a few things that have to happen to help create clarity in what can feel like very murky decisions:
Document. Document and document more. Take notes on dates, times, actions, and any action taken. If you have a human resources leader, he should have the documentation on this on hand.
Investigate. If you are observing and note items that need to be documented, that documentation should be investigated for validity and past history. Is this something that has been occurring? If not, when did it begin? Is there a policy that was not clarified?
So you have documented the issue, you have investigated the issue, and no matter the reason, some sort of accountability must be used to course correct.
If this is not an offense that deems termination, start with coaching. Have a conversation and document the issue, the violation and the improvement required. Set a date of a few weeks to check back in on how they are doing.
Move through the corrective process, documenting every time.
Always type up the documentation using measurable and observable notes and deliver it face to face with the employee.
A word of caution: Some of the best visionaries can motivate an audience, but when it comes to these conversations they will shy away, opting for a written note or to hand it off to someone else. This leaves your team feeling undervalued and disrespected by their supervisor.
What to do with a problem performer that does not improve.
Say goodbye and as soon as possible. Not only is a problem performer adding stress and workload to your productive team, more importantly, we are not honoring them when we avoid letting them go to move on to something for which they are better equipped. We’re also missing out on the great candidate just waiting to take our opportunity!
We tend to polarize our decisions with people by leaning too gracefully or too harshly, but we truly need to take the time to look at performance issues from all angles and ask ourselves, if this is something with them or is this something with me. Typically there is something for all parties to learn when a performance issue is handled and that means improved performance for the organization, the supervisor and the employee.
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