Coaching Someone When Their Job is at Stake
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Arguably one of the most difficult elements of being a leader, and a conversation that every leader dreads ever needing to have: telling someone their job is at stake due to performance or behavior.
It sucks, but leadership requires the courage and skill to do this.
This topic definitely falls into the bucket of leadership pitfalls. It’s one of the toughest conversations to have with an employee, and also something that every single leader in the universe needs to be equipped to handle and on board with potentially having.
First and foremost: If it's true, you have to be honest.
If someone on the team is having performance or behavior issues to the point where their job is at stake if they don’t turn things around, you MUST let them know.
You have to have courage and skill to let them know plain as day that is the case. You also must be willing to support and coach them up so that they are able to do what it takes to save their job.
Don’t dance around it — be direct.
I’ve had a number of conversations with leaders where they are extremely anxious or hesitant to deliver that direct news to their employees. And yes, it’s hard and uncomfortable; you never know how the employee is going to take it, etc. But being straight and direct about it is the kindest, most supportive thing you can do for that person.
When leaders beat around the bush or avoid clearly articulating the stakes of the situation, it can create a lot of confusion.
Many times, dancing around serious topics or attempting to “lessen the blow” by also including a bunch of praise along with the news can result in employees coming away not knowing if they are being disciplined, getting a raise, or something in between.
Many times hearing plain as day how serious the stakes are is exactly what that person needs to light a fire in them to correct their performance or behavior and turn things around.
Here’s how to structure the conversation to make it effective and extremely clear:
1. Outline the purpose and topic of the conversation. It’s important to be succinct, direct, and honest. Frame up and approach the conversation from a place of care and partnership while also being clear about the severity of the feedback. If their job is at stake, this is the conversation where they need to understand that.
2. Give detailed examples of behaviors or observations. This can apply to a pattern of behavior/performance, or a specific incident or issue. For example: The pattern of behavior I've seen you demonstrate is..." or "What I’ve witnessed is..."
3. Outline the impact of the issue. Share the specific negative impact of the behavior/incident on the team or project, their reputation or relationships, on you as a leader, etc. The negative impact of it may or may not be something they're aware of; don’t assume, spell it out for them.
Remember that the point of this is not to criticize or shame them, it’s to illuminate potential blind spots for them and have them understand clearly why this issue is a problem.
4. Paint a clear picture of exactly what needs to change and how going forward. Be precise about what specifically needs to change and what their performance and behavior needs to look like in the future. Paint a clear picture of what a 10/10 would look like from them.
5. Get aligned with them, and make a plan. Ask the employee to repeat back what they’ve heard to make sure everything is clear. Give them an opportunity to share their perspective. Ask them “What is your plan going to be to make this change? What do you need from me, how can I support you in turning this around?" To wrap up, agree on when you will revisit this conversation and check in on progress.
No surprises.
Someone losing their job over patterns of performance or behavior should never be a surprise. Leaders need to have proactive conversations when things are getting off track, way before someone’s job is in jeopardy in order to give them the chance to improve.
If you want to set them up for success to turn things around, make sure that they understand that you don’t want them to lose their job and that you are in their corner. Do everything you can to help support and coach them.
That being said, they still need to take full ownership of their performance or behavior. Ultimately whether or not they end up keeping (or losing) their job is up to them and comes down to their willingness and ability to make corrective changes and improve.
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