Our Car was Underperforming
Recently, our car was underperforming. It still works, but it's lacking in acceleration and there's a little sputter. We may be wasting fuel and arriving slower than usual, because we're careful with acceleration due to the sputter.
We love our car, Speedy. We knew it was the best purchase when we saw it on the car lot. My husband fought hard for it (he is a negotiator), because he knew how valuable it was. We researched and it met all our requirements for a car. We knew it would be beneficial for our family. And, we were right! Two children and 1 dog later, she has been good to us.
Now that Speedy has a sputter, our first response is wondering what is wrong. My husband and I discussed our driving experiences. We started diagnosing the problem (we are both engineers :-))
We never said we don't want the car anymore. We didn't have an emotion towards the car at all. We never thought we made a bad purchase or car. We focused on the root cause of the problem.
When an Employee Underperforms
Isn't this the case when you hired your employee, who is now underperforming? They were the right person for the job. Why would your response be different than if it was your car? If you have an underperformer on your team, you may feel frustrated and disappointed. You may want to remove this person from your team, because their behavior may make it harder for you as their manager.
But, you're less likely to say those things about your car. Not initially. Why is that?
I think it's because we believe the car can be fixed, but the employee is a problem you have to put up with. Cars, or equipment in general, have a period of DOWNTIME, and we expect it. This is waste in manufacturing. DOWNTIME stands for Defects, Overproduction, Waiting, Not utilizing talent, Transportation, Inventory, Motion and Extra-processing. We expect the car will have a wear and tear defect eventually, so when it happens, we just troubleshoot.
DOWNTIME in manufacturing reduces morale and profits, and it's unpredictable. Unpredictability hampers availability and optimization.
But, did you know your employee also has DOWNTIME, which can result in the same outcome? Availability decreases, optimization is poor, and profits are decreased.
Everyone experiences DOWNTIME, not just the underperformer. But, much like in manufacturing, it goes unnoticed or unaddressed until it's a problem someone cares about.
DOWNTIME for an employee affects their individual morale. The acronym stands for Doubt, Overwhelm, Worry, Nervousness, Threatened, Inferior, Mad and Excluded. Additionally, the employee adds self-judgment, which worsens DOWNTIME.
You see, as humans, we are unique because we can think, then we can think about what we thought. We can assign meaning to things based on experience (our memory) and imagination (what hasn't happened yet), which may or may not be accurate. We suffer from our thinking, unaware that we're causing it. We think we are responding to reality. When I learned this, my MIND was BLOWN!
What do you do about an underperformer?
So, how can you help a person during DOWNTIME? First, accept there is nothing wrong. This seems hard, because the evidence suggests something is wrong and may all be true.
The problem is not the mound of evidence you have that your employee is an underperformer. It is your interpretation of the evidence that is more problematic than the evidence itself.
Additionally, it's what the employee thinks about the mound of evidence that far outweighs the evidence itself. This is a two-way roadblock when trying to find solutions and a path forward.
You can also find the root cause. But, here is the kicker: what you think about the evidence will prevent you from getting to root cause, because the evidence is a threat to you. It threatens you, your performance, the team's performance, and the business. The brain won't let you move past the threat. And, that is the crux of the situation. How do you remove the threat, so that you can address the problem?
Step back and look at the evidence objectively; reframe and let go of the threat. It looks like this:
Manager: Employee doesn't follow through on what we agree in our 1:1 meetings. I find myself having to redo the work, and this takes up my time. This makes my job harder, so I might as well do it myself. I don't understand, our policies are clear, and they just don't want to follow them and hold others accountable to follow them. I'm tired of dealing with this.
Employee: My boss doesn't know what he wants. We have too many priorities. He doesn't understand what it feels like to be in my role. It's not easy to deal with others that I have to work with. We don't seem to have the same priorities, and I feel like I'm in the middle. Everyone is working in their own silos with their own objectives. I don't want to throw anyone under the bus, and besides, I understand where they are coming from. It's their boss that should hold them accountable, not me. When I talk to my boss, everything is so black and white with him, and I feel like an idiot, because what he says is easier said than done.
Circumstance: Project was due June 30th, and it's July 30th, and it's not completed.
Notice how neither the manager nor the employee are focused on the circumstance. The project was due on June 30th, and it's July 30th. Their brains focus on their thoughts about the other, and what they believe the problem is. It is a natural response, because the brain is wired to find problems and solutions.
Reframing
One way to overcome this issue is reframing. Reframing requires deeper understanding. Often, managers are uncomfortable with deep discussions, and the employee is uncomfortable having them also.
Reframing sets the stage for powerful questions like, what if it was easy to complete this project on time, what would I do? What if I believed everyone wants to follow the policies, what would I say? What if I believed all of our projects are completed on time, delivers the desired result, or that we would get the same result or better in some other way if necessary? How would I act? Would I be frustrated or open to new ideas? Would I be worried or curious?
Although difficult, this is a skill that can be learned and improved with practice. The key to going from an underperformer to a high performer is changing your mindset. However, our fixed minds won't allow the shift no matter how hard we try; the mind that wants us to feel comfortable, even if it leads to our own demise.
Your next step
But, much like learning to ride a bike, someone has to show you how, then you have to be willing to try it yourself.
You can live without riding the bike. There are plenty of people who don't, and that is okay. You can choose to do nothing.
The question is do you want to ride a bike or not? Do you want to know if you CAN ride a bike? Is this an experience you want to have to make your life richer? Do you want to make a difference or not?
There are no right or wrong answers, only the answers we choose.
Do you want to ride?
Go to www.estrellaresultscoaching.com and find out how we can help you. Scheduling a call can not hurt, it can only help. I guarantee it!
You can do it.
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