How to Help an Underperforming Manager Without Leading For Them

Results are the name of the leadership game.??

But it's no secret that results come in different shapes, sizes and are influenced by many factors.?However, for most leaders, the results scoreboard is typically made up of primary metrics depending on the role or company:

To deliver results in all or some of these areas can be accomplished in healthy or unhealthy ways and leaders tend to act like a borrower or an investor.?

Borrowers: They have short-term thinking and are unwilling to delay gratification.?They manipulate short-term results, even if that means paying a steep price in the long term.?

Investors: They have long-term thinking and are willing to delay gratification.?They invest in people and processes that may sacrifice short-term results for larger, more meaningful outcomes in the long term.?

Different strategies and tactics?are used?depending on the business's stage and what might be required.?For the sake of this column, we will focus on helping an underperforming manager get back on track with an investor mindset.?Which requires getting your arms around an essential leadership principle:?

You can't change people, but they can change themselves.?

It's tempting?when trying to help someone underperforming to claim the change for them.?Reject these instincts because it's a recipe for heartache.?If you start leading for them, there is a chance they never make the decision to lead again. ?

All Change Starts with Responsibility

Joey was an experienced manager at a mid-sized company. He made many excuses when his team missed its mark in the first year. The following year didn't get any better, so he blamed people on his team and even threw a teammate under the bus to save his job.?

While Joey's responses weren't unlike most leaders of underperforming teams,?the reason?things weren't getting better?was that?Joey hadn't come to grips with a hard truth: Results are the leader's responsibility.??

"Leadership is Responsibility."??- Kobe Bryant

There are many possible factors that can?cause a team to underperform. These are just a few: lack of talent, talented people not meeting their potential, changes in the market, or a lack of resources. Still, ultimately, one person is responsible: the leader.??

To help an underperforming leader without doing the work should be centered around three core phases.

Discover

In the discover phase, the focus must be answering one essential question, "Where are they?"?You can lean into a 360° Leadership assessment, observing them in action and identifying the strengths and weaknesses in the leader's current state.?

The goal is to gain a comprehensive understanding of their perspective, your perspective, the perspective of their team, and the facts of the current situation.?Since all improvement starts with the truth, the discovery phase lays the groundwork for answering the question, "Where are they?"

Develop

In the development phase, the leader should work with you or a professional coach to create a personalized leadership development plan.?This?must be a joint plan, mainly defined by the leader answering, "Where are they going?"?This question provides clear, measurable goals for improvement.?Typically, new mindsets, skills, and habits need to be acquired in this phase to help build a foundation to deliver better outcomes.??

New mindsets, skills, and habits are required to deliver better outcomes.

It's typical during the develop phase to invest in or provide leadership development programs or approaches.

Embed

The embed phase is often the most challenging because it's where the rubber meets the road.?It's when the work the leader puts in starts to show up?or?it doesn't.?Unfortunately, results typically aren't immediate, so leaders can get discouraged and lose their commitment.?This is why committing to change is so essential.?

"Commitment is when you fall in love with something to such a degree that you put structure around it for the times when you no longer feel in love with it." - David Brooks

Obsession would be the word I feel about Brooks' quote.?So few people are genuinely committed to their craft,?instead they are just interested in it.?There is a vast difference between being interested and committed.?This is why, in the embed phase, the leader must answer, "How are they going to get there?"

Weekly or bi-weekly coaching calls, inspections, accountability, and ongoing feedback are required in this embed phase to help implement the change and keep the leader patient.?

Closing

Unfortunately, most companies promote people to be managers and hope they lead well.?Then, when the leader or the team starts underperforming, they complain, make excuses, and refuse to provide the help needed.?Don't be this kind of leader or this kind of company.?Use the core phases of transforming a leader: Discovery, Develop, and Embed.??

While it?would be unreal for it to work every time, it won't.?The key is to know you are doing the right thing, and then you can live with the outcome.?Remember, you can't claim the change for anyone else.?

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About the Author John Eades is the CEO of LearnLoft, and creator of the Accelerate Leadership Program. He was named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices. John is also the author of Building the Best: 8 Proven Leadership Principles to Elevate Others to Success. You can follow him on Instagram @johngeades.