This month's theme: Dealing with poor performance head-on
Welcome to the November edition of Sharpening the Axe.
“Management is nothing more than motivating other people”
Lee Iacocca
Poor performance. It's something we are all faced with from time to time, but how often do we deal with it effectively and speedily? To look someone in the eye and tell them they no longer fit the business is a difficult task. But just how long are you prepared to let it go unsaid before someone's poor performance begins to impact the business?
It's a subject I discussed at length with my interviewee for this month, Harold Gittelmon. Harold is managing director of Harding Brothers, the fastest growing cruise-line concessionaire. It operates gift shops on board 60 cruise ships around the world. The company has several territories world-wide making the task of managing performance even more difficult for Harold.
When I asked Harold if he had any regrets in his role at Harding Brothers, he immediately mentioned a particular incident. He told me he had failed to take a tough decision he instinctively knew was in the best interests of the business. The decision, involved dealing with a new senior recruit and their performance.
Harold admits to having a whole bunch of excuses for not dealing with the issue. In a refreshingly honest confession he admits he focused on the guy's skill-set and technical competence. He failed to question whether or not he would fit into the team.
I'm sure we can all relate to this situation. But what do you do about it?
Once Harold had made the decision to hire, he was so concerned with getting the new recruit up to speed, and not wasting the agency fee, that he persevered rather than dealing the issue.
So what did he learn from this?
“You have to be decisive” he points out. “When a pattern emerges you’ve got to deal with it.” On reflection, he calls it “an expensive but valuable lesson.”
Click here to read the full article online
But just how expensive are these lapses for business?
Well, SHL group recently estimated that US companies are wasting $105 billion a year (an amount equal to over 1 percent of the gross domestic product) because of poor hiring and management practices.
That's a lot of cash. And the reason it impacts so heavily is that poor performance covers a multitude of sins, such as:
- Quantity of work achieved – doing too much (workaholic) or too little
- Quality of work
- Absenteeism
- Other forms of withdrawal from work – excessive chit-chat
- Conflict – stirring the pot
- Dishonesty
- Refusal to volunteer
- Lack of delegation
- Unrealistic targets
- Information distortion
- Slow decisions
- Capriciousness – too much fun and jokes
In the book review this month, I've recommended a good read on this subject entitled 'Managing the Poor Performer'. More of the book later, but I will steal two golden rules from it to help you make a start.
1. Make it easy for the person to do what you want.
Too many people set out to make it obvious they have won if the poor performer changes their behaviour. Making it easy involves giving the person early successes; be clear about standards of performance; don’t crow when the person changes – “I knew you’d feel better once you saw it my way” isn't helpful.
2. Handle the problem; not the person.
Describe the problem in terms of behaviour, not personality. So you talk about why Tom has been late eight times out of ten this last month - not about why Tom is a persistent absentee. You talk about why employee turnover and grievances are twice as high in Tom's section - not about why Tom is so insensitive. You must talk about what Tom does; not what Tom is. Handle the problem; not the person.
“My main job was developing talent. I was a gardener providing water and other nourishment to our top 750 people. Of course, I had to pull out some weeds, too.” Jack Welch
Moments of Truth
A crucial moment on which much depends…
Those of you who know me well, and have worked with me, know that I speak a lot about these moments of truth. Those little acts of leadership that create the culture for your team, your department, and your business.
In our interview, Harold Gittelmon hit this particular nail right on the head when he talked about leading by example. What struck me throughout our chat is the raw honesty of the man and I realised that what defines his style of leadership is his conviction to be himself, no matter what.
Paradoxically, he sees this strength as one of his weaknesses. He even commented “one of my shortcomings is my personality.” When I dug further, he explained he does not disguise emotion and that this transparency means his people are aware when he does not know the answer. While this may be a shortcoming in certain situations, it's clearly a strength when it comes to engaging his people about his vision for the business.
Harold believes in being really open with his people. In most instances, other than the one recounted above, he will tell someone if he feels they have the wrong character for Hardings. He doesn't have the distance a lot of people expect from an MD and it clearly helps his credibility.
Your approach will probably not be the same, and that's fine. But you have to be true to what you believe in. The thing about really effective leadership is that it must be truly authentic. Authenticity is about being genuine and real with your people. People can smell insincerity at 100 paces - they aren't fools.
So the next time your people see you sweating over a decision and not knowing all the answers, remember that it is okay to be vulnerable as long as you acknowledge it. It's a bit scary but then that's why it's a moment of truth.
