Helping Employees, and Yourself, out of a Rut

Ever manage a person who does the same annoying thing over and over and over again? Or on the flip side, perhaps an employee is always doing something so amazing that you’re constantly singing their praises, grateful that you can count on them. As managers, we’re ecstatic for employees that are consistently doing excellent work. But it’s not fun when an employee is continually struggling with a task or resists it completely.

Many managers tend to focus on the problem employee, without recognizing that the managers might as well be a big part of the problem too. After all, there are some on the team excelling, right? So it has to be the other person, doesn’t it? Not so fast.

A Managerial Rut

My bet is that when you have a pattern of performance, whether good or bad, there is also a pattern of interactions creating it. In other words, you are likely interacting the same way with a particular person, instead of figuring out how to change things up. Different players need different motivators, or perhaps an alternative structure that suits their style better.

Yes, of course, a job has certain requirements and we can’t always modify things to cater solely to an individual. But many managers opt for too much consistency, fearing the perception of preferential treatment.

In the case of the top performer, it may be a lucky coincidence the employee fits into the environment and is in sync with the way you work. Or perhaps each of you  has worked hard to find out what makes the other tick. If you can identify the key aspects of the successful situation, it might help you replicate it. But be careful of thinking that one size fits all. It doesn’t.

Take, for example, two bank tellers. There are several important job requirements, such as accuracy and exceptional customer service. That doesn’t mean that both people will deliver those results in identical ways. If one person moves slower, are you constantly asking him or her for quicker transactions and finding more errors? In your urgency to solve the problem, are you applying more pressure to perform instead of discussing what’s wrong? What if you gave the person a few extra minutes? If something isn’t working, doing the same thing over and over won’t fix the problem.

A Plan to Climb Free

The people in any organizations are unique and special and everyone (employees, managers, and customers) benefits when we can find ways to help each person do their best work. Here are some easy steps to get both managers and employees on a new path when things aren’t going well:

• Acknowledge you are both in a rut. Talk about the situation and work to identify the cause. Could things be improved with learning a new skill? Or is it not a good fit given the person’s interests, strengths, and/or career goals? Personality assessments can help here.

• Arrive at consensus about how to fix the problem. Options include keeping the employee in the same role and working to improve performance, or removing some of the employee’s responsibilities. Consider how important the task is to the overall job requirement, and how realistic it is to offload it in order to make the best choice.

• Discuss what each of you will do to alter current behaviors. Be creative. Involve others in the idea generation. Often people outside the situation can often see it more clearly. If you remove the stigma that someone is at fault or doing something wrong and instead seek a better solution, it opens up the possibilities for resolution.

• Establish a timeline to check in and reassess progress. That could be every day or once a week. But don’t wait too long. There is nothing wrong with the employee taking the initiative for the continued conversation if the manager doesn’t follow up. In fact, the manager should be delighted for the help. Change takes a concerted effort and it needs a spotlight on it to ensure it is top of mind for all involved.

So when employees are doing the same things over and over, it probably means the manager is, too, for better or worse. It’s up to them both to find ways to change it up.

Robin Eichert is the principal of PeopleSense Consulting LLC in Jaffrey. She can be reached at 603-532-5888. For more information, visit www.PeopleSenseConsulting.com.