Tackling Underperformance: A Guide for Managers Who Truly Care
As a manager, addressing underperformance is part of the role. It's challenging, especially when you think about the ripple effects on the rest of the team. But the real question is, how can you support an employee who's struggling to meet expectations? How do you guide them towards positive change? And when is it time to reassess and decide on the best way forward for everyone involved?
Understanding Underperformance
The Diagnostic Lens:
Consider the careful process a doctor undertakes to diagnose an ailment. They don't just throw out a prescription; they assess symptoms, ask probing questions, and run diagnostic tests. Similarly, understanding underperformance means delving deep. Is it a gap in skills, diminished motivation, external pressure, or perhaps a deeper neurological issue? For example, neuroscience reveals that chronic stress can hinder the brain's prefrontal cortex, a critical region for decision-making and emotional regulation. Could external pressures be impacting your team's cognitive abilities?
The Reflective Manager:
Hold up a mirror. What do you see? Every manager should periodically reflect on their management style. Perhaps you've read about the neuroplasticity of the brain — its remarkable ability to adapt and change. Similarly, as managers, we must remain adaptable, allowing our strategies to evolve based on feedback and introspection.
Building Bridges Through Communication:
There’s a deep-seated human need to connect, rooted in our evolution and brain chemistry. Oxytocin, often called the 'bonding hormone,' plays a vital role in building trust and social connections. Foster an environment where open dialogue triggers this beautiful neuroscience in action. Extend a hand and affirm, "We're in this together."
Strategies to Cultivate Improvement
Personalized Roadmaps:
No two snowflakes are identical, and neither are the challenges faced by your team members. After identifying the root causes of underperformance, craft a tailored plan. If someone struggles with time management, for instance, introduce them to the Pomodoro Technique — a time-management method that leverages our brain's focus and reward circuits.
The Cycle of Continuous Learning:
Neuroscience shows that learning stimulates the brain, promoting the growth of new neural connections. Create a thriving ecosystem where learning isn’t just an option but a culture. Maybe it's weekly workshops, or perhaps it's offering resources like the book "The Brain That Changes Itself" by Norman Doidge, which dives deep into the wonders of neuroplasticity.
Harnessing the Power of Peer Support:
There's a synergistic effect when colleagues support one another. Just as neurons in the brain work better when they form robust connections, employees can elevate each other’s performance through mentorship and collaboration.
Ongoing Monitoring and Nurturing Growth
Regular Touchpoints – The Heartbeat of Progress:
Managers need to regularly communicate with their team. By doing so, they can foster better understanding, improve team morale, and identify potential challenges early. Using methods such as journaling or apps like "Reflectly" promotes self-awareness and reflection. This proactive approach enables managers to anticipate issues before they escalate, ensuring they are always a step ahead in problem-solving. It also aids in tracking progress, setting clear goals, and understanding team dynamics more effectively, positioning the manager to make informed decisions and interventions.
Feedback – A Challenging Balance:
Did you know the human brain tends to focus on negative experiences? This inclination means that negative feedback can have a lasting impact. To better support growth and development, adopt a coaching approach to feedback. Instead of the traditional "sandwich method", engage in open-ended questioning and active listening. This approach allows team members to reflect on their performance, identify areas of improvement, and co-create solutions. This collaborative style not only fosters a positive environment but also empowers individuals to take ownership of their growth.
The Wins – Celebrations:
Celebrating wins is important. Dopamine, the brain's reward neurotransmitter, plays a vital role in motivation. By celebrating small victories, you're essentially giving your team a dopamine boost, enhancing their motivation and feelings of accomplishment.
When this is a collective mindset:
Having everyone onboard with this approach simply makes the team more effective and dynamic.
Making Difficult Decisions with Grace
Balancing Individual and Collective Good:
Remember the broader picture. While individual growth is vital, the collective success of the team is equally crucial. Sometimes, this might mean making tough decisions, but they should always be rooted in empathy and long-term vision.
Honest Conversations - A Pillar of Trust:
The brain's amygdala plays a central role in processing emotions, especially fear. Approach difficult conversations with transparency and care, ensuring the amygdala isn't sent into overdrive, which can hinder rational thought.
Understanding the Broader Impact:
Each decision creates ripples. For example, if one person is consistently underperforming and it's affecting team morale, it might be more than just their immediate colleagues who feel the impact. The entire team's neural synchrony, the harmonious firing of neurons when people collaborate, could be disrupted.
Best intentions might not be enough
In the intricate dance of the corporate world, every manager will face the melody of underperformance. Good managers, with the best intentions at heart, can sometimes inadvertently stifle the growth and potential of their team members. Let's explore how.
1. The Overbearing Mentor
Imagine a manager who always hovers around, providing 'guidance' every step of the way. While their intentions might be golden, their constant presence can be stifling. Great employees thrive on autonomy. They need space to innovate, make mistakes, learn, and grow. When that space is significantly reduced, it's like a subtle weight on their shoulders.
Empathetic Tip: Trust is key. Assign a task, provide the necessary resources, and then step back. Let your team members know you're there if they need guidance, but allow them the freedom to chart their own path.
2. Failing to Recognize Individual Strengths
Every individual is unique. Sarah might excel in analytics, while John is a whiz at presentations. A good manager who employs a 'one size fits all' approach can inadvertently set great employees up for failure.
Concrete Practice: Regularly check in with team members, not just about their tasks, but about their passions, strengths, and aspirations. Then, try to align their roles to those strengths.
3. Avoiding Difficult Conversations
Sometimes, out of a desire to avoid conflict, managers, especially those who are now leading individuals who were once their peers, might sidestep challenging discussions about performance, behavior, or team dynamics. While it might feel comfortable in the short term, in the long run, it does a disservice to the employee. The transition from peer to leader can add a layer of complexity, making these conversations even more essential yet potentially more difficult to navigate.
Neuroscience Insight: Our brains are wired to seek clarity. Uncertainty triggers the amygdala, a region in our brain associated with fear and threat responses. By avoiding tough conversations, we're unintentionally keeping our team members in a state of unease.
4. Not Providing Constructive Feedback
Good managers care about their team's feelings. But in doing so, they sometimes withhold feedback to avoid hurting someone's feelings. Remember, great employees are hungry for growth, and growth comes from feedback – both positive and the constructive kind.
Empathetic Tip: Frame feedback as a growth opportunity. It's not about what they did wrong; it's about how they can do it even better next time.
5. Resistance to Change
Sometimes, long-standing employees have seen the evolution of the company and deeply understand its foundational processes. When a new manager suggests changes without acknowledging the reasons behind existing practices, it can be unsettling for these seasoned team members. Their apprehension often stems from the thought, "We've been doing it this way for years; why change now?" This resistance is not always about being against progress, but more about needing a clear rationale for the proposed alterations.
Concrete Practice: Cultivate an environment where both legacy knowledge and new ideas are valued. Taking the time to understand the history of established practices while also being open to fresh perspectives can bridge the gap. Even if not all suggestions are adopted, the genuine act of listening can strengthen team unity and respect.
6. Lack of Professional Development Opportunities
Great employees are always looking to upskill, learn, and develop. If managers don't provide or support these opportunities, it can cause stagnation.
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Empathetic Tip: Regularly discuss career growth and learning opportunities. Encourage team members to attend workshops, webinars, or even just take a day off to learn something new.
It's essential to recognize that even the best managers are human and, therefore, prone to errors. The key is to remain open, receptive, and always be willing to adapt. Good managers have the power to elevate their teams to greatness. But, without a careful approach, they can inadvertently hinder the very talent they aim to foster. It's a delicate dance but with empathy, communication, and a dash of self-awareness, it's one that can be mastered.
How to guide the underperformed
1. Start With an Open Conversation
First and foremost, before diving into any solutions, it's essential to have an open conversation. Maybe the employee is going through a personal crisis, or perhaps they're unclear about their role. Whatever it is, understanding the root cause is crucial.
Tip: Maybe start with, "How are you feeling about your role? For the more emotional member and "What are your thoughts about your role? For the less emotional member. Is there anything you're finding challenging? What?"
2. Offer Tailored Training and Support
Once you've identified the areas of struggle, consider tailored training or resources that address those specific challenges. Sometimes it's easier to learn and seek guidance from peers. Encourage team collaborations.
Concrete Practice: Arrange a mentorship program within the team or have an externally led workshop, focusing on the identified pain points, ensuring the content is relevant and actionable for immediate application in the workplace..
3. Set Clear and Achievable Goals
Sometimes, the mountain seems too steep simply because we're not sure of the path. Break down tasks into smaller, more manageable goals. Celebrate the small wins and use them as stepping stones.
Tip: Sit down with your employee and co-create a roadmap. Ask them, "What milestones do you think we should aim for in the next month/ week?" depending on the scope.
4. Provide Regular Feedback (and Yes, Positive Feedback Too!)
It's essential to let employees know where they stand, offering both areas of improvement and positive reinforcement. Remember, it's about guiding them, not pushing them further down.
Neuroscience Insight: As mentioned, positive feedback releases dopamine in the brain, which is associated with feelings of reward and motivation. By balancing constructive feedback with praise, you're not only guiding but also motivating.
5. Assess Task Suitability
Perhaps the employee's talents lie elsewhere. Maybe they're a creative thinker stuck in a monotonous role or vice versa. Consider if there's a possibility to tweak their responsibilities to better align with their strengths.
Tip: Ask them, "Are there parts of your job you feel more passionate about? How can we leverage those strengths better?"
6. Check-in Regularly
Instead of waiting for the next performance review, make it a point to regularly check in on their progress, offering guidance and support along the way.
Concrete Practice: Schedule fortnightly one-on-one catch-ups, but keep them informal. It's a space for dialogue, not just review.
Unlocking Potential: Transform Underperformers into Star Players
Navigating the complexities of leadership often brings us to crossroads where we might encounter situations where a team member's performance doesn't align with our expectations. It's a delicate balance — upholding our duty to the organization while also honoring our commitment to the individual's growth and well-being.
Faced with this challenge, the pressing question becomes: How long do we invest in turning the situation around before making the tough decision to move in a different direction? It's about discerning when it's time to intervene, reassess, and ultimately determine the best course of action for both the team and the individual. Making such decisions is never easy, but necessary.
This is where the transformative power of high-performance coaching comes into play. Let's dive deeper into how it can be a game-changer.
Mindset Coaching: At the core of any performance challenge often lies a mindset barrier. Perhaps the individual is grappling with self-doubt, fear of failure, or even impostor syndrome. High-performance coaching zeroes in on these mental blocks. By helping the team member reframe negative thought patterns and build a growth mindset, they can begin to see challenges as opportunities. This mental shift is often the first step to unlocking their true potential.
Skills and Knowledge Enhancement: Sometimes, the gap lies in the practical realm. Maybe the team member needs a specific skill upgrade or deeper knowledge in a particular area. High-performance coaching isn't just about mindset; it's also about equipping individuals with the tools they need to excel. By identifying these gaps and providing targeted training or mentorship, we can bridge the divide between current performance and desired outcomes.
Optimizing the Environment: The surrounding environment plays a crucial role in an individual's performance. Are they provided with the right resources? Is there something in the workspace affecting their productivity? Do team dynamics play a part? High-performance coaching takes a holistic approach, examining all these factors. By creating an environment that fosters focus, collaboration, and innovation, we set the stage for enhanced performance.
Leadership Essentials: How to Succeed
Imperatives:
Avoid at All Costs:
Real life case: Commitment Yields Results
Eric led the marketing division at a prominent tech company, steering a dynamic team of eight. His newest hire, Amelia, joined as a junior data analyst, tasked with the dual responsibilities of deciphering marketing metrics and crafting innovative strategies grounded in data-driven insights. Amelia's zeal for conceptualizing marketing strategies was palpable, but Eric discerned an underlying issue: Amelia's confidence in handling data seemed shaky. "The reports she submitted often had gaps or misinterpretations of vital data points," Eric recounts.
Digging deeper, Eric realized that Amelia's challenges weren't just about her data skills; they were intertwined with her self-confidence. Instead of seeing this as a setback, Eric saw it as an opportunity. He paired Amelia with a high-performance coach for boosting her confidence through support and feedback. These sessions were supplemented with hands-on training, allowing Amelia to familiarize herself with the tools and analytics techniques. Concurrently, Eric's bi-weekly check-ins with Amelia pivoted to not just focus on her technical progress but also on her self-assurance and mindset.
"Amelia brought a unique, fresh perspective to our marketing strategies. It was evident that once she regained her confidence, her data analytical skills would naturally follow suit," Eric asserts. Over the next three months, the coaching did wonders. Though Amelia faced challenges initially, with consistent encouragement and guidance, the discrepancies in her reports reduced substantially.
Together, Eric and Amelia also established data validation templates and checklists. These not only acted as tools for accurate data interpretation but also as confidence boosters for Amelia. By the end of the third month, Amelia was not just proficiently analyzing data, but her insights were also anticipating market trends, becoming instrumental in the firm's landmark campaigns.
Reflecting on this journey, Eric notes, "Guiding Amelia was beyond just skill enhancement. It was about empowering her, boosting her confidence, and investing in our team's collective future. True leadership lies in identifying such potential, patiently nurturing it to fruition and reaching out for the right external help when needed."
Final thoughts
Underperformance isn't just a frustrating hurdle; it's an opportunity waiting to be seized. When we lean into the fascinating insights of neuroscience and combine them with empathy and the right support, we're armed with the perfect tools to turn challenges into moments of profound growth.
Before you stand at the crossroads of a pivotal decision, remember the unmatched potential of high-performance coaching. It's not just about skills or mindset; it's about fostering an environment where every team member feels valued and empowered. And when we get this right, it's not just a win for the individual, but a roaring success for the organization as a whole. Each effort, each connection, and each link in this journey brings us one step closer to crafting a resonating symphony of success.
I'll be hosting a live discussion here on LinkedIn on Wednesday, 11th October at 3pm CET. If you're around, I'd love for you to tune in and share your thoughts. Let's delve deep into some insightful conversations! ?? #LetsDiscuss
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