Are You Letting Things Pile Up?

It always starts small.?

?? They blame another team member for missing a deadline.

? They show up late to every meeting.

?? They display adversarial behavior with their team.

? You don’t want to address it.?

? You just don’t have time.?

? You’re sure it’ll work itself out.?

But, now all their behavior has piled up. It’s not improving. You’ve reached your limit. It feels like the only solution is a big action. You HAVE to take disciplinary action, right?

You begin the process, but now your employee takes a leave of absence. You’re left scrambling with a mess and an employee on a long term leave.

All you can think is, how did it get so bad so fast?

Unfortunately, many leaders find themselves in this situation.

The temptation to allow small behaviors to pile up is too strong. Confronting those little things feels uncomfortable. You don’t want to be labeled a micromanager (not a dreaded micromanager! ).

????♀? I get it! They’re not performing and that’s frustrating.?

But, you still have to talk to your people. It’s your job as their leader to give them everything they need to be successful.? It’s time to LLL - Lead, Listen To and Love Your People (even the low performers).

The Fix

?How does LLL fit into this scenario? I’ll explain.

There is an alternative to the above scenario. A much more positive one. And it starts with you getting a little uncomfortable immediately.?

The next time you notice one of your people exhibiting a behavior that doesn’t meet expectations or fall in line with your stated values, you immediately address it (Lead). You meet with them one-on-one, eye-to-eye (Listen). You don’t delay in providing tools they need to be successful, and you absolutely abandon all thought that the behavior will fix itself (Love).?

What does this look like practically? Follow these five steps when you meet with them:?

1. Communicate clearly what is expected
2. Make them aware of the?“why” it’s important
3. Provide training or other appropriate tools for them to be successful
4. Meet with them every two weeks – consistently - to review performance until you see sustained ongoing improvement
5. Provide feedback?at every meeting and in between-?acknowledge?positive performance and address anything that doesn’t meet expectations

At first, the conversations will feel uncomfortable. The most feared micromanager label may get thrown at you. (Trust me, being called a micromanager is far better than being labeled a procrastinator as a leader.)?

Stick with it. In order to lead your team well and build a truly high performing team, you as their leader need to get uncomfortable and manage your people closely. They will not ever be successful if you fail to supervise them. Every time you step up and manage your low performer, it gets easier and you become a better leader who leads a more effective team.

Your high performers are counting on it.

The end result to the much more positive scenario than the one first listed? There are two possibilities: With the proper guidance, your low performer transforms into a high performer. Go team!???

OR

After being given tools and time to improve, your low performer is still not performing as they should so you decide to say goodbye. But this time, it won’t be messy or chaotic.???

Bottom line: You don’t have to let things pile up. You can Lead, Listen To and Love Your People even when it’s uncomfortable. The end result will always be worth it.

Can you relate? Do you feel like you could benefit from additional support in this area?

Message me. I'm here to help you Lead, Listen To and Love Your People in all circumstances.

#heyAnne

Lead??, Listen??? to & Love ? Your People,?

Anne