Managing a team is challenging enough, but when some of your team members are not meeting expectations, it can be even more frustrating and stressful. How can you address this issue effectively and help your team perform better? Here are some tips to guide you.
Before you take any action, you need to understand why your team members are not meeting expectations. Is it a lack of skills, motivation, feedback, resources, or clarity? Are there any personal or professional issues affecting their work? Have a candid and empathetic conversation with them to find out the root cause and listen to their perspective. Avoid making assumptions or accusations and focus on facts and evidence.
Start with self-evaluation. Reflect on your leadership and see what you could have done to help him/her deliver better. His/her failure is your failure as well. Start here and be part of the development journey not a bystander. You may not always succeed but you would have given it your all.
When identifying the root cause it is important to keep the bias and self believing facts out of picture as that can change the direction of discussion and make situation worse. The best way is to give time, understand the situation, make a plan if possible and empathise in case of need. There might be various reasons hence having an open mindset and being collaborative here can really help to understand and resolve this issue.
Once you have identified the root cause, you need to set clear and realistic goals for your team members to improve their performance. Make sure they understand what is expected of them, how they will be measured, and what are the consequences of not meeting expectations. Use the SMART framework to define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals. Provide them with a written action plan and follow up regularly to monitor their progress.
When managing performance, goals play a key role. Clear, concise, SMART and realistic goals help the employee understand and deliver. Recording and committing to the goals on email and not just as a dialogue ensures less ambiguity and enhances accountability on both parties. Having regular check-ins with them ensures progress is monitored and timely support is provided as and if required.
Setting goals is not enough, you also need to provide support and feedback to your team members to help them meet expectations. Support can include training, coaching, mentoring, or additional resources. Feedback should be timely, constructive, and actionable. Praise them for their efforts and achievements and acknowledge their challenges and difficulties. Encourage them to ask for help when they need it and to share their feedback with you as well.
The support feedback provided to employees who are struggling to meet targets should be honest and precise. The sincerity of the message will prescribe the right training and development approach to be used. Also, the tone used to communicate the feedback should not be harsh. It should be crafted in a way that seeks to bring out the best of the employee, encouraging him/her to put more efforts. Honest feedbacks can be very difficult to accept but the mode of delivery spells the intention behind the feedback.
Providing support and feedback is not enough, you also need to hold your team members accountable for their performance. If they are not meeting expectations, you need to address it promptly and firmly. Communicate the impact of their performance on the team and the organization and explain the consequences of not improving. Use a progressive discipline approach that starts with a verbal warning and escalates to a written warning, a performance improvement plan, or a termination if necessary.
I’ve always stressed accountability as the key to shift performance of distressed team members. My practice is to allow the employee to play a driving role in developing a plan for improvement. That way, my job is then to hold you accountable to the things you identified as next steps or key actions to improved performance. I will help guide you in a positive direction but the plan is yours, I’m simply supporting you in its implementation. This, in my experience, has helped tremendously with accountability and ownership. You are able to take the position of a coach helping them stay in the game they want to be in rather than a referee calling out each mistake and misstep.
Holding them accountable is not enough, you also need to recognize and reward improvement when your team members meet expectations. This will boost their morale, motivation, and confidence and reinforce positive behaviors. Recognition and reward can include verbal or written appreciation, public acknowledgment, incentives, bonuses, or promotions. Celebrate their success and share it with the rest of the team and the organization.
Finally, you need to review and adjust your approach to managing team members who are not meeting expectations. Evaluate the effectiveness of your actions and the outcomes of your goals. Ask for feedback from your team members and other stakeholders. Identify what worked well and what didn't and make adjustments as needed. Keep learning and improving your team management skills and be flexible and adaptable to changing situations.
Coaching could be helpful for Managing team members who are perhaps not able to meet expectations ...... A Team Leader enables and ensures every team member to Perform at their fullest !