Confronting performance problems with clarity: how can you confront performance problems without alienating the people whose behavior you want to change?

• Author: Flanagan, Kathleen M.
• Position: Management & Careers

Managing employee performance involves a special set of challenges. One of a manager's most difficult tasks is confronting employees whose performance does not measure up to expectations.

There are any number of issues to deal with. In the case of an employee who is consistently falling short, a manager may wonder, "Why does she focus on details instead of strategic issues?" Or, faced with an employee who withholds critical information or cooperation, one may think, "Why can't he follow through on his commitments?" And sometimes the performance that matters most is in the hands of community leaders whose actions lead one to wonder, "Why do they keep obstructing our plans?"

Many managers delay or avoid the direct confrontations that are required to resolve these kinds of issues, or give up after having a conversation or two with the people involved. In either case, the disturbing pattern of behavior continues--with a corresponding increase in frustration and irritation on the manager's part. Well, there are ways to break the cycle. This article outlines five steps to help managers communicate directly and authentically while actually strengthening work relationships.

STEPS TO IMPROVING COMMUNICATIONS

Avoidance versus confrontation. Step one is deciding which confrontations are worth the effort. The points to consider are the personal and organizational costs of the performance problem and the costs of avoiding direct communication about it.

Many organizations have long-standing conflicts and misunderstandings that simmer just below the surface, and at first, these areas of disagreement seem too hot to handle. People feel burned out by past attempts to clear the air. When the same problems resurface repeatedly, leaders become resigned and resort to "going around" the person who is causing the problem. As a result, the leadership group suffers from a low-grade fever that interferes with performance in many ways.

Knowing your own motivations. Step two involves analyzing the situation according to your internal compass. Instead of south, east, west, and north, the points of the internal compass are observations, emotions, thoughts, and motivations. To negotiate a satisfactory solution, managers need to get their bearings by figuring out what they see, feel, think, and want in each performance situation.

Articulate exactly what external behavior is causing the performance problem. For example, you may notice that Ed always arrives 10 minutes late...