A team member's poor performance is affecting your project timeline. How will you turn this situation around?

An empathetic pause can illuminate more than impulsive reactions. Too often workplace underperformance is addressed with knee-jerk reprimands versus thoughtful curiosity into potential root causes. Your emphasis on dialogue and trust-building is so vital.

To turn around a team member's poor performance affecting your project timeline, begin by assessing the situation. Have a private, honest conversation to understand underlying issues or obstacles they face. Set clear, achievable goals and provide necessary resources or training. Reassign tasks if needed to better align with their strengths. Monitor progress regularly and offer constructive feedback. Foster a supportive environment to boost their confidence and motivation. This proactive approach can improve performance and get the project back on track.

Before you take any steps, make sure you understand why the performance is not good. Have a private talk with the team member to discover any personal or work challenges they might be facing. Approach the conversation with empathy and openness to establish trust. Only when you have a clear idea of the issues can you create a plan to support the team member in improving and realigning with the project's goals.

In my experience poor performance is almost always caused by one of three things (1) a lack of capabilities to perform successfully (2) unclear or misaligned expectations (3) a lack of personal accountability meaning they never committed to the expectation in the first place. Identify the issue first, if it’s not clearly in one of these three categories then you have to look at what the deeper rooted issue is that might be going on. You’ll have to get under the behavior and into the thoughts, feelings, emotions, and embodied practices to transform them.

Addressing poor performance starts with clear communication. Discuss specific concerns with the team member privately, focusing on understanding challenges and offering support. Set clear expectations, provide necessary resources, and establish a plan for improvement together. Regular feedback and monitoring progress are crucial. If issues persist, explore further training or reassignment options while maintaining empathy and encouragement.

To address a team member's poor performance impacting project timelines, I would first identify specific issues and offer supportive guidance. Clear goals and expectations would be set, with close monitoring of progress. Adjustments to responsibilities might be made as necessary, with thorough documentation of discussions and improvements. Encouragement and ongoing support would be provided, and if needed, HR would be involved for further guidance and resolution.

One thing I have found helpful is to be open minded and above all, honest in your answers. Identifying the problem is crucial. Being able to give that feedback is a skill not all people have. Even working remotely, a leader should be able to identify any work related areas of improvement, dial in, and correct the issue.

Make sure your team member understands their role clearly and why it matters for the project. Talk about the tasks they need to do, when they're due, and what level of quality you're aiming for. Use examples to show what success looks like so they have a clear picture. Keep the lines of communication open so they feel comfortable asking questions or getting more details. Check in regularly to keep them updated on any changes. This way, everyone's on the same page and knows what they need to do to succeed together.

Here are 3 things that I would also add to this: 1. Co-create individualised development plans that align with the team member's career aspirations as well as the organisation's needs. This fosters engagement and targeted growth. 2. Implement frequent, informal check-ins beyond formal reviews. These can help address challenges early and provide timely support. 3. While addressing areas for improvement is important, leveraging and developing a team member's strengths can often give better results and boost confidence - I much prefer a strengths-based approach.

Organize monitoring so that the team is interested in this process. For instance, use data analytics (BI) tools to help your team generate new hypotheses and change trajectory in a timely manner. This process will add dynamics to the team and minimize ineffective actions.

While monitoring progress, it's crucial to remember that a person's well-being is “Interconnected” with their performance. I often think about the concept of Spiritual Intelligence, which emphasizes understanding deeper motivations and fostering a sense of purpose. By genuinely caring about a team member's holistic growth, we can inspire them to overcome performance issues. This approach can transform their mindset and enhance the entire project's trajectory. Investing in their “Spiritual and Emotional Well-Being” can lead to unexpected and positive outcomes for the entire team.

When a team member's performance is slowing down the project, first, tweak your approach. Figure out where their work is causing delays and adjust tasks or deadlines accordingly. Make sure they know what needs improvement and offer support, like extra training or tools if they need it. Check-in regularly to see how they're doing and give feedback to keep things on track. Celebrate the little victories to keep everyone motivated and be flexible in how you manage things. Encourage teamwork so everyone can pitch in and help each other out to keep things moving smoothly.

When your team hits a goal, take a moment to celebrate their hard work. Give shout-outs to team members who've really stepped up. Maybe treat everyone to lunch or send a heartfelt thank-you note. Talk about how their success has made a difference to the project and team goals. It's all about keeping their spirits high and showing them you value their effort. Making these celebrations a regular thing helps build a positive vibe and keeps everyone motivated to keep pushing forward.

An empathic approach makes way for dialogues and trust. It is in the realisation that there may be more than meets the eye.The reasons could be anything, from changing work scenarios to challenging group dynamics to facing technology challenges and more. Understanding the situation holistically and then ensuring the right actions are taken promptly in support will get the player back into the game.

I think this is a great summary of what to do when anyone is not meeting expectations: 1 Be clear about the expectation that's not being met (focusing on behavior and impact) and ask for context. If this is going to be a hard conversation, give the person a heads up so that any potential automatic defensiveness (which is natural) can be lowered to really hear your feedback but also so they have a chance to bring the context to the conversation. 2 Based on the context you hear, reassess the situation. This could be reinforcing the same expectations, framing the work differently, providing support, shadowing, etc. 3 Set clear next steps. 4 Check in at regular intervals. 5 Celebrate progress reinforce expectations if progress isn't made.