13.

CONFRONTING DIRECT REPORTS

UNSKILLED

Not comfortable delivering negative messages to direct reports

Procrastinates and avoids problems until forced to act
May not communicate clear standards or provide much feedback
Lets problems fester hoping they will go away
May give in too soon to excuses
May give people too many chances
Cant pull the trigger even when all else has failed
Has low standards or plays favourites

SKILLED

Deals with problem direct reports firmly and in a timely manner

Doesnt allow problems to fester
Regularly reviews performance and holds timely discussions
Can make negative decisions when all other effects fail
Deals effectively with troublemakers

OVERUSED SKILL

May be too quick to act on problem direct reports

May not put enough developmental effort toward the problem
May expect turnarounds in too short a time
May expect miracles
Select one to three of the competencies listed below to work on to compensate
for an overuse of this skill.
COMPENSATORS: 3, 7, 12, 19, 20, 21, 23, 31, 33, 36, 41, 56, 60, 64

Copyright 1996-2004 Michael Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger. All rights reserved

SOME CAUSES

Cant deal with face to face conflict

Cant turn around resistant people
Dont give enough feedback
Dont know how to draw the line
Dont want the paper work hassle of acting
Dont follow up well
Have unrealistic expectations
Let problems fester
Procrastinate or play favourites
Wont make the ultimate call
Wont take negative actions

THE MAP

Most organisations are running leaner today. With more rapid change and team-based
efforts increasing, problem performers cant be hidden as they often were in the past.
Overcoming your reluctance to deal with them is a key to your units performance and
probably your career as well. Managers who excel at confronting direct reports are
timely, consistent, focus on performance gaps, pitch in and help the person succeed,
and are sensitive to how the person feels. But if the effort fails, taking timely but
compassionate action to separate the person from the organisation is the true test of
management courage.
SOME REMEDIES

1.

Most problem performers dont know it?

Delivering bad news to people face to face came in number one in a survey of
what managers hate to do. Survey after survey says employees do not get the
feedback they need to correct performance problems. Women, minorities and
older people get the least. Most people who are fired or take an honorary
resignation have had satisfactory or high performance appraisals up to the
point of leaving. Its tough to be the bearer of bad news. Emotions and
defensiveness may flare. The consequences could be severe. You may have to
defend your actions insider and outside the organisation. Long term, its cruel
and unusual punishment not to deliver fair but direct feedback to someone
who is struggling or failing. Otherwise he/she cant work on the problem and
plan his/her career.
The key to overcoming your reluctance is to focus on fairly applied and
communicated standards and on gaps between expected and actual
performance. Read Becoming a Manager by Linda A. Hill for case studies of

Copyright 1996-2004 Michael Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger. All rights reserved

managers applying standards to others for the first time. Make sure everyone
under you knows what you expect of him/her and where he/she stands.
2.

Creating and communicating standards

Are your problem performers confused? Do they know whats expected of

them? You may not set clear enough performance standards, goals and
objectives. You may be a seat of the pants manager, and some people are
struggling because they dont know what is expected or it changes. You may
be a cryptic communicator. You may be too busy to communicate. You may
communicate to some and not to others. You may have given up on some and
stopped communicating. Or you may think they would know what to do if
theyre any good, but thats not really true because you have not properly
communicated what you want. The first task is to outline the 5 to 10 key
results areas and what indicators of success would be. Involve your problem
direct reports on both ends, the standards and the indicators. Provide them
with goals and standards are usually harder on themselves than youll ever be.
Often they set higher standards than you would. More help? See #35
Managing and Measuring Work.
3.

Realism

They are not performing up to standard? Its common to see 90 day improveor-else plans that no one can accomplish. Be more strategic, improve your
interpersonal skills, learn about the business, be less arrogant. Ask yourself
how long did it take you to become proficient at what you are criticising this
person for? Because managers hesitate delivering negative messages, we get
to people late. Sometimes the last five mangers this person reported to saw the
same difficulty, but none of them confronted the person. Get to people as soon
as they do not meet agreed upon standards of performance. Dont wait. Early
is the easiest time to do it with the highest return on investment for you, them
and the organisation. Most people who have reached the problem performer
status will take one to two years to turn around under the best of
circumstances. Its cruel and unusual punishment to require a fixed time turn
around or improvement plan. If your organisation demands a 90 day wonder,
fight it. Tell them that while a bit of improvement can be seen in that period,
substantive change is not like producing a quarterly earnings statement.
4.

Starting the improve or youre gone process

The first meeting. After you have made the assessment that a direct report just
isnt making it, document your observations against the standards and arrange
the first tough meeting. Experience directs that these first tough meeting
should always be in the beginning of the week and in the mornings. They
should not occur on Fridays or the day before holidays when most managers
deliver them. They should not be at a time when the unit is on a bomb run
getting ready for a big presentation. Start the meeting by saying we have a

Copyright 1996-2004 Michael Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger. All rights reserved

performance issue to talk about and fix. Be succinct. You have limited
attention span in tough feedback situations. Dont waste time with a long
preamble, just get to it. The recipient is likely to know the feedback is negative
anyway so go ahead and say it first. They wont hear or remember anything
positive you have to say anyway. Dont overwhelm the person, even if you
have a lot to say. Pick the key areas and stick to them. Keep it to the facts and
their impact on you, them and your unit. Talk about specific events and
situations. Plan for enough time. This is not a process to rush.
5.

Go in with an improvement plan

Dont criticise without a solution and a plan. Tell the person what you want
paint a different outcome. Dont expect him/her to guess, and dont spend a lot
of time rehashing the past. Suggest steps both of you can take to remedy the
problem. Be positive but firm. Be constructive. Be optimistic in the beginning.
Help him/her see the negative consequences and the potential timing you can
ask what he/she thinks and you can tell him/her what the consequences are for
your side. Change starts with seeing an unacceptable consequence and a way
out. Improve or else threats dont work. More help? See #19 Developing
Direct Reports.
6.

Managing the pushback

Keep control of the discussion. Dont do fake listening the obligatory Now
lets hear your side if you dont think there is another side. Discussions like
this will trigger most peoples natural defence routines. Expect that. Thats not
necessarily a sign of true disagreement or denial; its just a natural thing to do.
Say something like, I understand you have a different view, but the
performance just isnt there in this area. Weve got to deal with this. The
person may have 10 reasons why your appraisal isnt fair or accurate. Listen.
Acknowledge that you understand what he/she has said. If the person persists,
say Lets talk about your view tomorrow after weve both had a chance to
reflect on this discussion. Then, return to your agenda. Say, Im going to
help you perform in this area. The best tack is to immediately schedule new
work, trusting that the person will come through this time. You should discuss
this as you would any other work assignment and not bring up the past. She/he
has already heard what you said. (With a person who, in your opinion, lacks
motivation not skill, raise the stakes. Sometimes a person who performs
poorly at a C difficulty task performs well at an A difficulty task in exactly the
same area.)

Copyright 1996-2004 Michael Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger. All rights reserved

7.

Defence condition four

Emotions can run high. This may truly be a surprise to the person. Even
though this problem has been going on for years, this may be the first time a
manager has dealt with it directly. Dont take too seriously what people say in
that first meeting. He/she is running on emotion. Mentally rehearse for worst
case scenarios. Anticipate what the person might say and have responses
prepared so as not to be caught off guard. Work on your stands through mental
interrogation until you can clearly state in a few sentences what you stand is
and why you hold it. Remain composed and dont use words youll regret. If
he/she is not composed, dont respond. Just let him/her vent or even cry, then
return to the problem at hand. Dont forget the pathos of the situation even if
youre totally right, feelings will run high. If you have to knock someone
down, you can still empathise with how he/she feels or you can help pick
him/her up later when the discussion turns more positive. Allow him/her to
save face; concede some small points; dont rush the human process of
grieving. More help? See #12 Conflict Management.
8.

The next day

Go by and see the person the next day; dont have him/her come to your
office. Ask him/her how he/she feels. Dont back off your points, just allow
him/her to talk. Indicate you will pitch in and help, that you consider it your
job to remove obstacles to performance, provide information and support,
provide structure and advice on how, but not tell the person how to do it, and
be available fro trouble shotting. consciously try to maintain the same or a
closer relationship after the event. If the person feels written off, the situation
can turn hopeless. Schedule regular checkpoints. Use a ruler you a both relate
to. Track progress. If appropriate at some later time, ask the person for
feedback on you as a manager. More help? See #7 Caring About Direct
Reports.
9.

The two-minutes warning

The last chance for the person who isnt really trying. You may have to pull
someone aside after a couple of months and say, I understand all your issues
had have tried to help you, but you arent doing what we agreed. Are you
committed or not? If you have to do something like the above, follow the
rules of dealing with conflict: depersonalise; keep it on the problem, not the
person. Try one last time to help. Note the persons concerns or objections or
description of whats getting in the way but dont concede anything. Be clear;
now is not the time for negotiation. Give the person a day to think it over and
come in with a believable performance improvement plan. At this point its
his/her problem. Be prepared to act immediately if the plan is insufficient.
Obviously, you will have gotten any necessary clearances in advance and
sought the help of Human Resources and Legal.

Copyright 1996-2004 Michael Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger. All rights reserved

10.

Saying good-bye

Just because the person cant do this job doesnt mean he/she is incompetent
as a person or that he/she cant do 50 other things better than you can do them.
Do nothing to generalise one performance failure to other situations, and point
to the persons strengths in any way you can. Suggest what would be a better
job match. Indicate what you can do to help; if youre willing to be a reference
for certain types of work, say so. Make the meeting short. Go back to see the
person later and talk about his/her feelings if he/she is willing. You dont have
to respond, just listen. Come up with some sort of parting gesture that
indicates to the person that you are not rejecting him or her; it was simply a
matter of one job that wasnt a fit. A party, a note, a phone call whatever you
can do thats genuine. Even if he/she rejects you, if you meant it, thats all you
can do.

Copyright 1996-2004 Michael Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger. All rights reserved