Questions for Underperforming team member
Managers often instinctively resort to fight or flight response when they encounter an underperforming employee. The fight response here is "What can you do to improve?" and the flight response is to a) change the role of the employee or b) put the employee on a PIP i.e. performance improvement plan.
Effective coaching, of an employee who is struggling with performance, starts by asking right questions.
The most important question for a manager is self-introspection by asking "Have I set the employee for a failure?"
Some of the questions that a manager can ask an underperforming employee are:
- Are the goals and expectations clear to you?
- Are you clear on what success metrics with respect to achieving the goals?
- Have I been unrealistic to you in setting the goals and expectations?
- Do you want more or less frequent follow-ups from me?
- What are the dependencies on other teams in achieving your goals?
- Do you need more time?
- Do have the necessary resources to achieve your goals?
