Some topics tend to come up repeatedly in my group coaching sessions, and managing poor performers is one of them! I can’t believe I’ve never written a newsletter about this…

As a leader, you will likely have to deal with this at least once, but more likely several times in your leadership career. Even if you are the best hiring manager in the world, sometimes you inherit an employee from another team and soon discover they aren’t cutting it. Other times, you may start a new role in senior leadership and have an instant team of people you may not have hired yourself. This one’s always tricky…

Before diving in, I want to clarify that this week’s newsletter will focus on poor performers you manage, either directly or indirectly (i.e., you may manage their boss). I will not discuss managing poor performers who are your peers, although this is a great topic, too. If you want me to address that one next, hit reply and let me know!

Okay, let’s dive in…

But first… identifying poor performers

If you don’t have a process in place to assess and review your team’s performance, you need to do this. If you manage managers, it can be as simple as having them present a snapshot of their team’s performance to you each month, using a red, yellow, and green system. If you’re a front-line manager, this is something you should put together and consider sharing with your manager proactively (trust me, we love this stuff).

The idea is to always have your finger on the pulse of who is performing and who is not.

Another exercise I recommend (although it can be uncomfortable) is to review your team members annually and ask yourself, ‘If I could re-hire each person on the team, would I?’ Let me tell you, this exercise can be eye-opening. You can also ask yourself how you would react if you knew each person on your team was thinking of leaving. Would you fight for them to stay or feel relieved?

Be honest with yourself about the answers to these questions. Admitting that you would feel relief if a team member were to give their notice does not mean you need to terminate them! It’s just a data point that tells you something needs to change.

Okay, you’ve identified someone on the team isn’t performing. What next?

There are three questions I ask myself that will determine the next steps:

1. Is this person in the right role?

Having a great employee in the wrong role is a recipe for failure. If someone on your team is underperforming and it surprises you, this may be the reason, especially if they have the skills and the right attitude but still aren’t getting the results they should.

Look at the employee’s strengths and interests and ask the honest question: Is this the right role for this person? If the answer is no, it’s time for a conversation. The good news is that if there’s another role within the organization that is the right fit, the employee can potentially move into it and be a lot happier.

Of course, not everyone will be happy about this conversation. I remember being on a sales team with a woman who worked her tail off at her desk from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day and was still doing terribly. In truth, this person should not have been in sales. Our VP eventually saw this and tried to move her into more of an administrative role. The challenge was that she wanted to be in sales and was not interested in switching roles. Eventually, she was let go.

2. Have I set clear expectations?

Brene Brown said it best, “Clear is kind.” How can you expect someone to meet your expectations if you haven’t clearly laid them out? And by expectations, I’m talking everything from work product to timelines to how you want to communicate. More is better when it comes to this.

The second element of setting expectations is to demonstrate what ‘good’ looks like. Many leaders miss the mark here, and if you don’t know the answer to this question, you may have found your core issue.

Depending on the level of people you’re managing, this will look different. If you’re managing junior individual contributors, you’ll need to provide a lot of guidance and a clear protocol for doing the job. If you’re managing senior people, this won’t be needed; however, you should still ensure that you are aligned on expectations and how to measure success. Many people assume that hiring someone with a ton of experience is enough. It will not replace clear communication, my friend!

If you haven’t done a great job in this area, don’t beat yourself up. It’s never too late to reset and have this conversation. Take responsibility for not having communicated clear expectations, and then do so, so everyone is aligned moving forward.

3. What threshold do I need to set?

Okay, let’s say the person is in the ‘right’ role, and you’ve set clear expectations that they are not currently meeting. What happens next?

This is where I see people waffle for months and even years, not wanting to make a decision. We’re all human, and it doesn’t feel good to have to let someone go! So I get it. But often, when we finally make that hard choice, we reflect back and recognize we probably should have done it six months ago.

This is where setting a threshold can be helpful.

I believe in giving people an opportunity to turn things around. I also believe that at a certain point, you need to cut the cord. Instead of waiting for the decision to hit you over the head, decide in advance what you need to see (or stop seeing) to move ahead with either keeping the person or terminating them.

For example, let’s say you’re managing a team of sales managers, and one of them has been underperforming. You’ve finally had the hard conversation where you’ve shared your clear expectations and what you want to see from them moving forward. Setting a threshold could be: By the 90-day mark, you need to see this manager running the processes you discussed and proactively sharing team updates with you on a weekly basis. They need to demonstrate that they are coaching their team regularly and holding them accountable to the goals that have been set.

At 90 days, you have your answer. Has this person adjusted their behaviour or not? If they still aren’t doing these things, don’t let it go another 90 days! So many people will do this. The key with setting the threshold is sticking to it, so you don’t get stuck in indecision.

Not long ago, I met a brilliant woman named Neha Kumar, who has founded, scaled, and sold companies. Our group was having a discussion about hiring and firing and she shared a very different perspective:

When you know someone isn’t right for the role (or isn’t working out) it’s selfish to keep them around and let it drag out. You’re not doing this for them, you’re doing it because you don’t want to have the difficult conversation.

Boom. That one hit me like a ton of bricks.

Part of being a great leader is making the hard calls and doing it in a way that is still in your integrity. Unfortunately, this will include letting underperformers go for the good of the team and the company. But before it gets to this, be sure to ask yourself the tough question above about whether you’ve set this person up for success.

A hard conversation setting expectations early will ensure everyone is clear on what’s expected, so there are no surprises down the road.

PS. Doors are officially open for my proven group program to get you VP-ready and thriving as a senior leader! You can ​book a call with me here​ to learn more. You’ll get support from me and an amazing community for a full year, to ensure you’re successful. This month only, I’m offering a $1K discount and some amazing bonuses, including 1:1 support! There’s nothing else like this!

Until next time friends… ✌️💜

Katy

PS. Doors are officially open for my proven group program to get you VP-ready and thriving as a senior leader! You can ​book a call with me here​ to learn more. You’ll get support from me and an amazing community for a full year, to ensure you’re successful. This month only, I’m offering a $1K discount and some amazing bonuses, including 1:1 support! There’s nothing else like this!