Great Expectations:
How to Get Employee Performance Up to Par and Cut Ties When Necessary by Deb Boelkes Sooner or later, even the most talent-rich companies wind up with an underperformer on the team. When they’re undealt with, these less than stellar workers create a negative ripple effect. Your best performers become demotivaed, resentment festers and worst of all, productivity suffers. That’s why leaders are supposed to set high expectations for all employees, and hold them accountable for a job done poorly. So why do so many of us drop the ball in this area? Deb Boelkes says it’s often a matter of mindset. We may focus on how unpleasant it is to confront people about performance, or even worse, fire them, and so we procrastinate. We forgot we’re doing everyone a favor by quickly addressing the problem, including the underperformer. “You’re doing one of two things when you hold someone accountable for not living up to their agreed-on expectations,” say Boelkes, author of The WOW Factor Workplace: How to Create a Best Place to Work Culture. You’re either forcing them to get back on track and do the work they’re capable of doing or, if you have to let them go, you’re removing them from a situation that was most likely wrong for them in the first place.” In fact, once the dust dies down, they may come back and thank you. When you can look at it this way, you may be less likely to put off what you know needs to be done. When organizations consistently set clear and firm expectations and hold people to them, what Boelkes calls “the wow factor” is more likely to manifest and permeate the entire culture. Wow factor workplaces are those that create a great experience for employees and customers. Part of creating this experience is helping people understand what they must do to succeed, and taking action to prod them back onto the right path if they veer away from it. Remember that the performance The National Dipper
March/April 2021
buck stops with you, the leader. “Blaming others is not an option,” says Boelkes. “That is why heartfelt leaders accept total responsibility for the team’s and each team member’s results. When expectations are not being met, take a moment to assess what YOU can do to improve the employee’s performance. They may need mentoring, or a candid discussion about what is preventing them from delivering results, or even a formal warning. It’s up to you to choose the right path.” Set expectations upfront. People need to know what “right” looks like. Wow factor workplaces typically have a well-documented set of behavior standards and performance expectations. This is an agreement between you and the employees about what you each expect from each other. If you don’t already have such an agreement, schedule a planning session and work with others in the organization to create one.
It’s THEIR job to perform, but it’s YOUR job to engage and motivate them. Here’s what the late Teresa Laraba, former senior vice president of customer services for Southwest Airlines, had to say: “There does have to be a core sense in individuals that motivates them to come to work. They must want to get up in the morning and want to come to work. They must want to get up in the morning and want to live their life. But once they get to your place of employment, especially as a leader, it is your responsibility to make sure the workplace is as engaging and welcoming as it can be. Especially in our case, you are living out what people expect at Southwest Airlines: a caring environment.” You can’t take your team any further than you can take yourself. Great leaders, heartfelt leaders, live by example. To set a good example for your team, work on your own performance. Continue developing new
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