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How a leader can take their fears and beliefs out of the picture when dealing with employee performance.
Ive never fired anyone before
How a leader’s beliefs can get in the
way
2 Apr 2007
Ever had that discussion with someone that
shares a problem their experiencing, and as they
describe the situation your wondering why they haven’t
taken action?
From your view the solution is obvious, yet they seem
unable to have the same view or conclusion.
In a recent conversation with a small yet growing business
owner, there was that same experience. Ultimately the
conversations lead to some awareness on his part as to how
his beliefs were getting in the way of his business growth
and performance.
Here is a recap of the conversation….
“Hey Bill (not his real name) glad we could get together
for lunch. What has been happening with you?” I ask.
“Oh man, it’s been unreal. I didn’t sleep last night and
I’ve been up since midnight going at it.” is the reply.
“Really, what are the issues on your mind?” was my
question.
“I’ve got this guy that just drove me crazy yesterday and
kept me up all night. We had a problem in the plant and I’m
positive it was his error, but he denies any knowledge of
it. He always has this way of covering his butt and it’s
getting to me.” Bill responded.
“Ok, tell me more about this guy and what he does and
doesn’t do.” was my next question.
To shorten the dialogue here is the litany Bill gave me:
Has this suddenly gotten very obvious to you? Just hold on!
“So what does he do that causes you to keep him on board?”
was the follow up.
“Well he has been with us the longest, has the technical
skills we need and does some of the specialized projects
that come in.” was Bill’s response.
“Ok Bill, I want you to back away from this and imagine
you’re not involved here. You’re talking to another
business owner and he has just related this same situation
to you. What would you be telling him based on this
information?” as I turned my writing pad around and pointed
to the two lists.
Bill paused as he looked at the lists and took that third
party look.
“I would have to ask why the guy is still there?” was the
response.
“So why is he still there?” was my question back to Bill.
“I’ve never had to fire anyone before, and I think with the
changes we’ve made in his position we can get him to
change. He has value and after all he has been with us for
the startup.” was Bill’s justification.
“Ok Bill, I’m going to be blunt here. As I see it, your
choices going forward are:
Which would you prefer?” in response to his justification.
“Tell me about the third one, you said they make the choice
instead of me?”
“That’s right. You see many business people tend to not set
standards for employees and as a result the employee has to
be dependant upon the owner or manager to direct them. This
puts all the pressure on the owner/manager to be
responsible for performance.”
“On the other hand, if you and the employee agree on set
standards of expectation and performance. Then the
responsibility of measurement, accountability and choice is
put back on the employee. They know if the expectancies are
being met and whether they want to work in a culture that
holds them accountable.”
“By setting standards with this guy and getting his
agreement, he then takes the responsibility for meeting
those standards. It’s now his choice if he wants to change
his behavior or not. If his behavior prevents him from
meeting the agreed standards, then he has chosen the path,
not you.” is my explanation.
“Ok, so I come up with standards for everything I expect
him to do and get his agreement to them. So then we simply
track the measurements to see if he is on track or not. If
he is consistently off track we have a reason to hold him
accountable for performance, not just behavior?” Bill asks.
“That’s right Bill, and now do you see how your personal
beliefs are no longer in the way of the employee’s choice?”
“I think so, because it is not so much my choice anymore,
the standards direct the choice rather than my beliefs,
fears or feelings. The pressure seems to already be coming
off.” Bill remarked.
“Now a couple of other things that come from this as well
are, systems and ways to measure performance that you may
not be using. These could help everyone in the plant. You
also allow more freedom to the employee to solve problems
and use their talents more effectively. In addition the
employee can get a feeling of belonging or ownership when
they are give standards to focus on along with the freedom
to perform.”
“Then there is the ability to direct behavior with
standards as well.” I added, “If you want a certain type of
behavior from someone, say more team building, you can
write the standard in a way that requires the employee to
alter their current behavior in order to achieve the
standard.”
“An example might go like this: Team building will have
been met when the team members have met each day for a
minimum of 10 minutes to discover the talents and abilities
of each team member. This information has then been
discussed by the team and determined how best to maximize
each member’s talents to met or exceed the expected
standards.”
“Ok”, asks Bill, “how does this affect this guy’s
behavior?”
“As I see it, he is not a team player and pulls people
down. If he is required to perform in an alternate fashion,
look at their strengths, does he now have to choose to
change his behavior or change his position? Also are you
directly challenging his behavior or are you making the
issue “team building” instead? Is this an indirect way of
affecting his behavior?” was my response.
“You’re right, this should cause him to choose one way or
the other and again it is not my choice, it’s his!”
exclaimed Bill.
Bill went on, “So now he chooses to either change as needed
to meet the standards or he ends up leaving because he can
not do the job. But that is his choice, I just need to make
sure he has the tools and support, the rest is up to him!
This is almost too easy!”
“Well there is plenty of planning, thinking and discussion
to get this all implemented, but if you have a clear
picture now of what you need to start doing, you’re on the
way.”
From here Bill and I set up time to help him work through
the various positions and establish standards for each
position.
Bill is relived, because he still may not have to ever fire
anyone! They may choose to leave because they are unwilling
or unable to meet the standards agreed to. Now Bill’s
beliefs are about accountability not personalities.
This story sounding familiar to you? If so give us a call
or drop a line and see what we can do for your organization
and sleep habits.
Till next week, you make it a great day as only you can!
Harlan Goerger
National Training Director
© Harlan Goerger, April
07
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