This article resonates deeply with my own experience as a manager. I once faced a similar dilemma with a low performer on my team. I prioritized the well-being of my team member and invested significant effort into rehabilitation. However, I've since realized that this approach, while well-intentioned, had unintended consequences.
It's easy to focus solely on the struggling individual and the company's bottom line, but we often overlook the broader impact. The team's morale can suffer, and as managers, we expend considerable energy that could be directed towards more impactful initiatives.
This experience taught me the importance of balancing empathy with pragmatism. While supporting team members is crucial, it's equally important to consider the overall team dynamics, productivity, and our own effectiveness as leaders.
I witnessed this as a third party. I saw my manager go out of his way to help my colleague, even in his personal life, to ensure he was happy and in turn could perform well at work.
The only situation I was involved in similar to this was from a more Junior engineer. He did excellent during the interview for a junior role and actually performed pretty good. After a while, he became a little stagnant in his performance. He was asking all the right questions during 1:1s. The problem was the lack of follow-up. His eagerness to grow never manifested in any concrete action, project, or generally any deliverable.
I knew something was up, almost like he was distracted. I had to put on my coaching hat and learned that his heart wasn't in it by asking why a lot of times and going deeper. Nothing was inherently wrong about the company or the team, he just felt like he jumped into a serious career path leaving too many personal questions unanswered. I gave him some time to think about it and he eventually decided to leave and pursue a spiritual journey. I think that was the best outcome for everyone and he even came back a year later, unfortunately we didn't have any open role at the time.
I learned right there to dig deeper right away if I sense something is out of place.
It's great that the member was able to choose to prioritize resolving his personal issues. I think in many cases, there no going back when we miss a chance to handle family or friend relationship issues. Even though career-wise he couldn't get back, I think it's still worth it in a long term.
Aside from supporting the individual by adjusting the role or expectations, I like to have a more longer-term conversation with the person. Is this role the best fit for them? Where do they see themselves in 5 years? Etc with this approach you can solve for the long term and in many cases the best solution is to part ways.
That's a tricky situation that no manager wants to be in, but sometimes if it isn't the right fit, it's the best outcome for everyone in the long term. Most individuals know they're not doing well when that's the case and they probably hate going to work everyday
This article resonates deeply with my own experience as a manager. I once faced a similar dilemma with a low performer on my team. I prioritized the well-being of my team member and invested significant effort into rehabilitation. However, I've since realized that this approach, while well-intentioned, had unintended consequences.
It's easy to focus solely on the struggling individual and the company's bottom line, but we often overlook the broader impact. The team's morale can suffer, and as managers, we expend considerable energy that could be directed towards more impactful initiatives.
This experience taught me the importance of balancing empathy with pragmatism. While supporting team members is crucial, it's equally important to consider the overall team dynamics, productivity, and our own effectiveness as leaders.
Completely agreed. I think that's the hardest part. Gladly in my case the team was quite understanding and they also provided some help.
I witnessed this as a third party. I saw my manager go out of his way to help my colleague, even in his personal life, to ensure he was happy and in turn could perform well at work.
The only situation I was involved in similar to this was from a more Junior engineer. He did excellent during the interview for a junior role and actually performed pretty good. After a while, he became a little stagnant in his performance. He was asking all the right questions during 1:1s. The problem was the lack of follow-up. His eagerness to grow never manifested in any concrete action, project, or generally any deliverable.
I knew something was up, almost like he was distracted. I had to put on my coaching hat and learned that his heart wasn't in it by asking why a lot of times and going deeper. Nothing was inherently wrong about the company or the team, he just felt like he jumped into a serious career path leaving too many personal questions unanswered. I gave him some time to think about it and he eventually decided to leave and pursue a spiritual journey. I think that was the best outcome for everyone and he even came back a year later, unfortunately we didn't have any open role at the time.
I learned right there to dig deeper right away if I sense something is out of place.
It's great that the member was able to choose to prioritize resolving his personal issues. I think in many cases, there no going back when we miss a chance to handle family or friend relationship issues. Even though career-wise he couldn't get back, I think it's still worth it in a long term.
Aside from supporting the individual by adjusting the role or expectations, I like to have a more longer-term conversation with the person. Is this role the best fit for them? Where do they see themselves in 5 years? Etc with this approach you can solve for the long term and in many cases the best solution is to part ways.
That's a tricky situation that no manager wants to be in, but sometimes if it isn't the right fit, it's the best outcome for everyone in the long term. Most individuals know they're not doing well when that's the case and they probably hate going to work everyday
Thanks for the insights!
I heard that once you are on a PIP there is actually no more hope for you. At least at the big tech companies like Amazon.
Exactly. PIP is more like a final warning. But it is still better than firing someone on the spot right away. It allows the member to prepare early.