by Brie Barker | Difficult Conversations, Leadership Development
My leadership blog is all about helping current and emerging leaders learn how to transform difficult conversations and dysfunctional workplace relationships into positive and productive ones.
Addressing a Diminishing Job Performance
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An employee demonstrating diminishing job performance is both common and important enough that, as a leader/manager, you need to know how to address it effectively.
/
From what I’ve seen in my practice, many leaders/managers consider this a difficult conversation to even initiate, let alone execute effectively.
/
Here’s how you can begin that conversation in a way that will yield a positive and productive outcome.
/
In general terms, the answer to reversing a situation of diminishing job performance is to get your employee to either:
/
»» Start doing something,
»» Start doing something BETTER, or
»» Stop doing something.
/
And sometimes it’s some multiple/combination of those things.
/
Now, just telling your employee to start/improve/stop seldom works and, if it does, the change will almost always be temporary.
/
The first thing you need to do is understand why this change in performance/behaviour is happening — and you’re best to start from a place of non-judgement.
/
S E E K F I R S T T O U N D E R S T A N D
/
Arrange to have a conversation in a private setting. A neutral place such as a meeting room helps to suspend an unhelpful power dynamic that could be present in your personal office space. The initial tone and feeling of the conversation should be more human-to-human and less boss-to-employee.
/
//
Opening the Conversation:
/
Open your conversation with something like this …
/
“I’ve noticed that your job performance has dropped lately, Chris.
I’m used to you operating on a higher level and I just want to check in with you on that.
Can you shed some light for me on what’s happening?”
/
Let’s unpack this wording a bit …
/
Sentence #1:
-
You are getting right to the point of the conversation. This helps you stay focused and Chris isn’t left feeling anxious in wondering what the conversation’s going to be about.
-
You are making an observation about Chris’ performance, not casting blame/shame by saying something like, “You’ve been doing a lousy job lately.”
Sentence #2:
-
It’s clear to Chris that you acknowledge this is a change from a higher performance level, which will reduce any defensiveness.
-
Your intention is clear — you have general concern for Chris; you want Chris’ perspective and are not making any assumptions.
Sentence #3:
-
This is an open invitation for Chris to share, not a demand for accountability.
-
You may think you know the reasons for the diminishing performance but people feel more empowered and respected when they’re giving the opportunity to self-assess … plus, you might be wrong.
-
At the end of this sentence, remain silent until Chris has had time to process and respond.
/
/
Employee’s Possible Responses:
/
Chris’ response will likely come in one of three flavours. Here’s what they are and how you can respond, in turn:
/
Response A:
Chris responds openly with thoughts of what the root cause(s) of the diminishing performance are.
If this happens, it’s a sure sign that Chris trusts you. Give yourself an Awesome Leader checkmark!
/
Response B:
Chris will refute your claim.
/
There are two reasons why Chris might do this:
/
»» Chris agrees but is too egotistical or embarrassed to say so
»» Chris doesn’t agree
/
Either way, you need to respond with specifics that support your claim, e.g.:
/
“You haven’t met your quota for the past two months.”
“You were two weeks late in finishing your part of the System-X project, which pushed our go-live date back another month.”
“Accounting had to send your monthly budget status report back to you three times for you to correct significant errors.”
/
Again, it’s important to cite such things as observations, without hostility.
/
After you lay out the specifics, it will help reduce any defensiveness that might have creeped up by saying something like, “And this just isn’t the solid level of job performance that you’ve always delivered.”
/
Response C:
Chris will acknowledge his poor performance but will say something like, “I’m not really sure why things aren’t going well lately.”
/
A response like this can mean either:
/
»» Chris does know what’s going on but isn’t feeling comfortable enough to talk about it yet (it comes down to trust) or, less likely,
»» Chris really doesn’t know why this is happening.
/
If it means the former you need to re-extend the invitation to share; if it means the latter then you need to try and help Chris figure it out.
/
Either way, there are two specific further lines of enquiry for you to move to now, in order: (Note that both of them still invite Chris to self-assess.)
/
1. Work Environment:
“Can you think of any systemic or procedural issues, or interpersonal problems that could be affecting your performance?”
/
If that yields fruit, continue the conversation. If it doesn’t yield fruit, go to the next line of enquiry,
/
2. Personal Life:
“Can you tell me about anything that’s going on in your personal life that could be affecting your performance at work? We’re all human and sometimes life’s circumstances are really hard to manage.”
/
The second sentence helps normalize the situation in Chris’ mind and continue to make Chris feel less vulnerable.
/
If this line of enquiry yields fruit, continue the exploration.
/
If this doesn’t yield fruit either, then one of two things is likely going on:
»» Chris is feeling too vulnerable to share these things with you — you need to build up more trust.
»» Chris isn’t emotionally ready to recognize the source of problems and may need time and/or professional help to figure this out.
/
So those are a few paths that lead to the first thing you need to accomplish when addressing an employee’s diminishing job performance — understand the root cause(s) — why it’s happening.
/
Of course, there’s quite a way to go before this conversation plays out, but that’s where I’m going to leave things today.
/
Have a productive and enjoyable day!
/
— Brie
/
Addressing a Diminishing Job Performance
/
An employee demonstrating diminishing job performance is both common and important enough that, as a leader/manager, you need to know how to address it effectively.
/
From what I’ve seen in my practice, many leaders/managers consider this a difficult conversation to even initiate, let alone execute effectively.
/
Here’s how you can begin that conversation in a way that will yield a positive and productive outcome.
/
In general terms, the answer to reversing a situation of diminishing job performance is to get your employee to either:
/
»» Start doing something,
»» Start doing something BETTER, or
»» Stop doing something.
/
And sometimes it’s some multiple/combination of those things.
/
Now, just telling your employee to start/improve/stop seldom works and, if it does, the change will almost always be temporary.
/
The first thing you need to do is understand why this change in performance/behaviour is happening — and you’re best to start from a place of non-judgement.
/
S E E K F I R S T T O U N D E R S T A N D
/
Arrange to have a conversation in a private setting. A neutral place such as a meeting room helps to suspend an unhelpful power dynamic that could be present in your personal office space. The initial tone and feeling of the conversation should be more human-to-human and less boss-to-employee.
/
//
Opening the Conversation:
/
Open your conversation with something like this …
/
“I’ve noticed that your job performance has dropped lately, Chris.
I’m used to you operating on a higher level and I just want to check in with you on that.
Can you shed some light for me on what’s happening?”
/
Let’s unpack this wording a bit …
/
Sentence #1:
-
You are getting right to the point of the conversation. This helps you stay focused and Chris isn’t left feeling anxious in wondering what the conversation’s going to be about.
-
You are making an observation about Chris’ performance, not casting blame/shame by saying something like, “You’ve been doing a lousy job lately.”
Sentence #2:
-
It’s clear to Chris that you acknowledge this is a change from a higher performance level, which will reduce any defensiveness.
-
Your intention is clear — you have general concern for Chris; you want Chris’ perspective and are not making any assumptions.
Sentence #3:
-
This is an open invitation for Chris to share, not a demand for accountability.
-
You may think you know the reasons for the diminishing performance but people feel more empowered and respected when they’re giving the opportunity to self-assess … plus, you might be wrong.
-
At the end of this sentence, remain silent until Chris has had time to process and respond.
/
/
Employee’s Possible Responses:
/
Chris’ response will likely come in one of three flavours. Here’s what they are and how you can respond, in turn:
/
Response A:
Chris responds openly with thoughts of what the root cause(s) of the diminishing performance are.
If this happens, it’s a sure sign that Chris trusts you. Give yourself an Awesome Leader checkmark!
/
Response B:
Chris will refute your claim.
/
There are two reasons why Chris might do this:
/
»» Chris agrees but is too egotistical or embarrassed to say so
»» Chris doesn’t agree
/
Either way, you need to respond with specifics that support your claim, e.g.:
/
“You haven’t met your quota for the past two months.”
“You were two weeks late in finishing your part of the System-X project, which pushed our go-live date back another month.”
“Accounting had to send your monthly budget status report back to you three times for you to correct significant errors.”
/
Again, it’s important to cite such things as observations, without hostility.
/
After you lay out the specifics, it will help reduce any defensiveness that might have creeped up by saying something like, “And this just isn’t the solid level of job performance that you’ve always delivered.”
/
Response C:
Chris will acknowledge his poor performance but will say something like, “I’m not really sure why things aren’t going well lately.”
/
A response like this can mean either:
/
»» Chris does know what’s going on but isn’t feeling comfortable enough to talk about it yet (it comes down to trust) or, less likely,
»» Chris really doesn’t know why this is happening.
/
If it means the former you need to re-extend the invitation to share; if it means the latter then you need to try and help Chris figure it out.
/
Either way, there are two specific further lines of enquiry for you to move to now, in order: (Note that both of them still invite Chris to self-assess.)
/
1. Work Environment:
“Can you think of any systemic or procedural issues, or interpersonal problems that could be affecting your performance?”
/
If that yields fruit, continue the conversation. If it doesn’t yield fruit, go to the next line of enquiry,
/
2. Personal Life:
“Can you tell me about anything that’s going on in your personal life that could be affecting your performance at work? We’re all human and sometimes life’s circumstances are really hard to manage.”
/
The second sentence helps normalize the situation in Chris’ mind and continue to make Chris feel less vulnerable.
/
If this line of enquiry yields fruit, continue the exploration.
/
If this doesn’t yield fruit either, then one of two things is likely going on:
»» Chris is feeling too vulnerable to share these things with you — you need to build up more trust.
»» Chris isn’t emotionally ready to recognize the source of problems and may need time and/or professional help to figure this out.
/
So those are a few paths that lead to the first thing you need to accomplish when addressing an employee’s diminishing job performance — understand the root cause(s) — why it’s happening.
/
Of course, there’s quite a way to go before this conversation plays out, but that’s where I’m going to leave things today.
/
Have a productive and enjoyable day!
/
— Brie
/
© 2018 Connected Conversations™
by Brie Barker | Leadership Development
All managers are human … and managers need to be able to reconcile their human values with their managerial responsibilities. Sometimes, that’s easier said than done.
Recently, I was helping a client — we’ll call him Jack — who is less than a year into his role as a senior manager of a department that he was new to. Jack has been having a really tough time figuring out how to deal with one of the staff members he inherited — we’ll call him Stan.
Stan is in his late 60s and has been in the department for forever and Jack told me that he’s one of the sweetest, nicest guys you’ll ever meet. However, Jack also said that Stan’s productivity level is only about 20%, that his memory runs hot and cold, that he often appears unkempt and that it’s become clear that the rest of the staff were always trying to cover for him. Stan didn’t even appear to be aware of these things.
So, Jack did some digging. What he found out was, prior to a couple of years ago, Stan was the go-to guy for his expertise and was highly productive — pretty much the department’s superstar. Jack wondered, what on earth had happened that created such a dramatic change in this man?
It turns out that Stan had been the victim of an assault that had left him with significant head injuries. Such a tragic story.
Now Jack was facing a dilemma. From a human standpoint, Jack felt a great deal of sympathy for Stan and didn’t want to make this poor guy’s life any harder. From a managerial perspective, Jack knew that, for the good of the department and the organization, the productivity issue had to be resolved. Jack said the problem would resolve itself if Stan just retired. However, Stan had made it clear that he had no intention of retiring. Having difficulty reconciling these two things, Jack recognized he was just avoiding Stan altogether.
Jack had fallen into a mindset that’s easy to fall into when facing a difficult dilemma — the “either/or” mindset.
The managers and leaders who cultivate the ability to see past this restrictive mindset are able to be more effective.
When it comes to workplace relationships, the best managers and leaders are able to adapt their communication style not only depending upon the individual they’re communicating with, but also from moment to moment whilst communicating with them.
For example, if Jack wants Stan to be more productive AND wants to support him and keep him in his position, Jack needs to do two things:
1. Be crystal clear and direct with Stan about his performance level: where it’s at, where it needs to be and why, and what will happen if things don’t change.
2. Then, once the above message is fully received, switch to more of an affiliative, coaching approach to get Stan’s productivity up as high as it can go, given the reality of his health situation.
That first step is not within Jack’s comfort zone, within his natural way of being; while the second step is — that’s why Jack’s been avoiding the situation.
What does Stan need to hear in order to get the message?
Remember, Stan used to be the expert, the go-to guy, so you can imagine how difficult it might be for him to swallow his pride and openly acknowledge that his performance level is unsatisfactory. So Jack can likely expect some resistance and needs to know what can help him get through to Stan.
Jack has to adapt how he communicates information based on how Stan processes information.
For example, Stan’s job is very technical and requires precise thinking and he tends to need data before he’s convinced of anything. Jack needs to be prepared to leverage this, to show Stan empirical evidence to prove his lack of performance and why it’s critical it improves.
Once Stan can admit to the reality of the situation, Jack can swing back into his comfort zone of supporting Stan and collaborate on an action plan to get Stan up to his maximum performance level.
What happens next?
Well, if Stan’s productivity level can rise to an acceptable level, then all will be good in the world.
However, if Stan’s current abilities just can’t meet the demands of the job, then Jack needs to honour the organization and take the appropriate steps to let Stan go … and that will be hard for Jack. But that’s leadership.
Have a productive and enjoyable day.
by Brie Barker | Uncategorized
Developing and practicing Mindfulness is something everyone can do and it’s a powerful skill in terms of creating and maintaining positive and productive workplace relationships.
Many years ago, I took an 8-week course called the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program (MBSR), which was developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Kabat-Zinn describes mindfulness as “a lifetime engagement not to get somewhere else, but to be where and as we actually are in this very moment, whether the experience is pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral.”
Since that time, mindfulness has continued to be a core part of how I try to move through life and it’s certainly a concept that’s deeply integrated in the work that I do. Some of my recent social media posts have spoken to the importance of mindfulness in the workplace; if you missed them, here are two articles from Harvard Business Review you can read:
(A follow-up Facebook post will come out next Monday, so “Like” my Facebook page if you don’t want to miss it.)
Being mindful is another way of saying being fully present — and that’s what you need to be during every encounter you have with someone at work. Here are 5 steps to help you do that:
- Embrace the notion that the OTHER person is the most important one in the conversation, not you.
- Listen more, talk less.
- Temporarily let go of the past — listen without prejudging.
- Don’t get emotionally hijacked — when you let your emotions take charge, you’re no longer listening.
- Remain focused — don’t let distractions break your connection with the other person; ensure they get the message that they’re the most important thing to you at the moment.
The more you practice these things, the better you’ll get at them. The better you get at them, the better your workplace relationships will be.
Have an enjoyable and productive day!
