Ugh. Your employee just doesn’t get it. I mean she doesn’t get what you need her to do, by when and in what format. You KNOW she’s capable of better. You’ve clearly explained her role, you’ve told her what you need, how you want it done and when you need it. Yet in spite of your best efforts, well….she’s struggling.
Grrrrrrrr!! What’s a great leader to do? Pick One:
- Get over your guilt and realize that it’s not you, it’s her
- Take a minute to be sure that it really is her and not you
- Figure out some common ground and start there
Actually, each of these answers has its place, but they are all missing the one thing you need to get the results you want. No matter what you SAY, you’ve got to find a way to CONNECT with your employee. A good leader will focus on fixing her performance problem. But as a GREAT leader you must also focus on WHO she is.
So, in addition to solving the issue at hand, go for gold medal performance:
- Build her trust in you
- Align her vision with yours
- Win her commitment to do her best to fulfill that vision going forward
Does this seem like a tall order? Well, maybe it is. But it’s what great leaders do. And it’s really not that hard
HERE’S HOW:
FIRST take a deep breath and get yourself centered. CONNECT with the very best in YOU, the one who is compassionate, calm, wise and clear. Then, connect with the very best in your employee. Take blame out of your mind conversation for both of you. If you are too hard on yourself, you’ll be too hard on her.
If you are sorry for something then have a separate conversation to apologize FIRST.
NEXT talk to her. Be very straightforward and start your conversation from the Blame Free Zone.
“I want to talk to you about the weekly Team Dashboard. I’m concerned because for the last two weeks it’s been late and contains errors..”
CONFIRM YOUR BELIEF IN HER. Say, “I know you are capable of so much more.”
BE SILENT. Sometimes the next one who speaks loses. Once you make your point, be quiet and let her talk.
BE STILL, LOOK AND LISTEN. She should respond. Now it’s your turn to listen and look for signs of trust, understanding and commitment.
LATER, in the days that follow, give the conversation time to take. Give her time to reflect on what was said and respond. Look for near term improvement and let her know you see it when it happens.
