Nearly every company I invest time with has this common problem: people in positions they either have outgrown or worse yet, the position has outgrown them. They are the perennial anchor that keeps the ship from surging forward and growing as it should many times. It’s not that they are bad people, they are just in the wrong position possibly or being misused. For whatever reason, they can not seem to keep up with their assignments and produce quality work. Here is the really sad part, they are probably miserable trying to keep up.
What do we do with these people? Do you keep trying to pound that square peg into the round hole? Or do you just get so fed up that you fire them and move on? As always, the answer is ‘it depends.’ Very few people get up every morning and profess to do a poor job all day. The minority are malicious in their efforts to see what mayhem they can cause on a daily basis. However, many of them are either under utilized, over worked, under trained or just plain bored. My discussion with my clients is usually a conversation of what have we done to ensure the team member is given every chance to succeed? Is more training needed? Are they being efficient with their time? Were they or anyone else ever successful in the position? What is the team member good at? What have the discussions between manager and the team member sounded like?
The answers to these and more will usually lead you to a decision point: Is the person worth keeping. As a manager/owner/leader, you have invested huge dollars in the person. The last resort should be letting them go. However, a clear path to success must be laid out so that all are clear on what that looks like so that in the event success is not achieved, parting becomes a natural and expected if not mutual decision.
One of my clear directives to teams I have managed is timeliness. I can not stand people that are disrespective of other people's time. ‘If you are not early you are late’ is one of my mantras that my teams know very well. One of my team members when I was a manager in Houston, Texas for a large home builder had been warned about being late a couple of times very clearly. At a meeting soon after one of these warnings, he didn’t show up that morning. Concerned for his well being, we called his cell phone and got no answer. After the meeting, I sent a team member to his home to check on him. He wasn’t there. Growing very concerned, I continued to call and was getting ready to start calling his family when my phone rang. It was him. He had woken up late and knew I was going to fire him, so he just decided to go to New Orleans for a few days and have fun instead. Now, I don’t agree with leaving your team without saying something like that, but you have to admit, he was clear on the consequences of being late again.
Soaring with eagles means cutting loose all the turkeys holding you down or making sure they become eagles as well. One of the hardest parts of being the leader is ensuring that your ENTIRE team is the best you can get. Refuse to settle,
continually try to improve, be appreciative, but never be satisfied. High performing teams model after their leader. What do you expect of yourself? How hard do you push yourself? Do you act like an eagle? Take a moment and really ponder whether you are doing your part to be sure the team is clear on directives, has the tools, and knows how you want it done. Ask them these questions as well. If the answer isn’t quick and succinct, better get to work. You may think of yourself as an eagle, but you really never left the ground.
For help with this and other issues such as team development, manager training and growing revenue, contact Burk at burk@rainmakerbuilders.com or visit us at www.burkmoreland.com. The results you want are out there, let us help you find them.