202110181158 Coaching underperformers

Underperformers may not realize that they have an inflated sense of their performance. Managers should figure out the cause of their lack of awareness. In the process, they will either uncover what support the underperformer needs or confirm that they just might not be able to do the job and that they should reset expectations accordingly.

This situation is very draining on time and emotions for everyone involved. It's better to fix it right away.

Another insidious risk is that by allowing this to go on, a manager may be tacitly endorsing substandard performance, causing other employees to become demotivated, disengaged, or angry about the situation. (202110181231 Don't tacitly endorse bad behaviors)

Possibilities for alleviating the issue:¹

• 202110181203 Be clear about expectations — This can seem painful, but it's better for everyone in the long run. You have to be super clear on expectations.
• Provide employees with resources and support — If their natural skills are insufficient, they may not even perceive their deficits. It's important to coach, mentor, and get them in a position where they can grow and succeed.
• Determine whether you're willing to continue investing in the individual — If you're not, it's much more practical to reduce your expectations. Do not abandon them, but do not spend more time on then than is required. You should spend your discretionary time on your top performers (202110181205 Invest discretionary time in top performers). This also includes deciding whether they are below the acceptable line or above it. Good -> great can be abandoned, but failing -> ok cannot. If they're failing and can't improve, it's time to let them go.
• Assess whether they'll accept help — all kinds of biases prevent people from recognizing how badly they're performing or that they need help. We just don't want to see what we're bad at and don't want to think of ourselves as failing/failures.
• 202110181215 Target praise carefully — you can and should praise anyone who does a good job on things, but you need to link this to continual improvement and express it as a positive step on a longer journey.