What do you do when you inherit a low performing team?
What do you do when you inherit a low performing team in your new leadership role?
Last Monday, a client asked me this question 3 weeks into his first job as a #people manager.
He had inherited two people. Before his first leadership meeting, he sent them detailed instructions about what to prepare. One of them came back with a presentation that my client described as lazy and low-quality.
Needless to say that he was not only disappointed but also furious. In fact, he was prepared to go as far as putting this person on a Performance Improvement Plan over this.
Was his reaction justified?
Manager's POV: He had been entrusted to run a function as a first-time leader and he felt the pressure of delivering fast. It was very important to show that he was capable enough to take control of the situation and that he was the right person for the role. He also assumed that the team's tenure in the company meant that they had done this before.
Team POV: In the meantime, both people had been in the team for over 4 years without a dedicated line manager. Nobody had agreed a standard with them, defined what good looked like, or told them what actually mattered. Then the new manager who had been there three weeks sent instructions for a meeting they were not attending, in front of an audience they would never meet.
How could the two sides align better?
Asking questions is not a very comfortable thing to do for a leader because it shows that they don't have all the information. But, staying curious and getting those insights is crucial for team #performance. So, instead of a performance conversation, here's what he discussed with his team member:
What expectations existed before he arrived.
Whether roles and responsibilities were ever written down anywhere.
What this person wants from their work and where they want to grow.
What success looks like to each of them, and whether those two pictures overlap at all.
And what they need from a manager, given they have not had one in four years.
The questions did not fix the presentation in time for my client's leadership meeting. However, they achieved a far more important, long-term goal: defining the exact problem he was dealing with.
Lack of clarity, motivation or trust/ psychological safety are all potential reasons behind low performance but require a different approach from the leader's perspective.
Eventually, you might need to make a decision towards a PIP or even a termination. But not before you have all the facts and you've provided a fair opportunity for success.
⁉️ Have you ever inherited a low-performing team in a leadership role? What was your approach?
🌟Sparking Leadership # 58: a weekly series on human-centered sustainable #leadership. Reach out if you're stuck in your #career and need a change or follow for more sparkling content. In the meantime, lead with spark! ✨️
