You’re a manager, and lets say you have 5 directs. Out of those five directs you have one that is amazing, does just what you expect them to do. You also have one that never does anything right, you can’t trust them. As a result, you delegate less to that direct you can’t trust, and give your boss negative feedback on that individual.
Really? You’re giving your boss negative feedback about someone who works for you? That’s scary. I’m not sure I want to work for you. That means if I screw up, you might be telling my boss instead of me?
There’s one thing that I always ask myself before I talk about someone who is not doing what I expect. Do they know exactly how they disappointed me? Your direct MUST know exactly how they disappointed you when they do disappoint or do not complete a task or responsibility as expected. How can they ever perform a task well if you don’t give them feedback on the previous task?
Yes, there are a few exceptions. The main exception here is getting advice from people you trust. If you aren’t sure how to talk to someone, it is appropriate to ask for advice on how to confront. This must be someone who is not involved in the situation though, that’s unfair to all parties involved.
I can also admit that jobs change as business processes change. Things won’t be the same a year from now, and everyone who you work with will have picked up a new job skill in order to adapt to change. As a manager, this is where you’ll use coaching. As the job changes, so must the people working on it. This is a reality, and again – it is YOUR responsibility to coach your directs, not their responsibility to try to guess what they should be learning.
What action should you take? Stop blaming things on your directs. You hired that person, you gave them the responsibilities/tasks that they are performing. If they are not doing well, why are they to blame? It’s you!
What if you don’t have any directs? Can you blame your manager? No, never blame people. But, if you find that the work situation that you are in is unsafe because you are being blamed for things instead of your supervisor/manager realizing what their part is, you may find yourself in a situation that you choose to endi.
No Comments