What are some strategies to improve team performance when members are underperforming?

Identifying the root cause of underperformance is vital for implementing strategies to enhance team performance. Here are some potential issues and corresponding solutions: • Team members may lack the necessary skills or training. Address these gaps by providing training and skill development opportunities. • Misunderstandings due to poor communication can hinder performance. Foster a collaborative environment where team members feel comfortable discussing ideas and concerns. • Lack of recognition or support can dampen morale and impact performance. Implement recognition programs to acknowledge top performers. • Overloading team members can lead to burnout and underperformance. Set SMART goals and balance workload to prevent burnout.

El primer paso es aprender a escucharlos atentamente, para comprender cómo se sienten y cuáles son sus verdaderas necesidades. Solo así podremos ayudarlos desde nuestro acompañamiento y apoyo profesional. Crear un espacio seguro es crucial.

Identifying the root cause is critical and the first step to supporting an underperforming team member. However once you identify the true challenge, you must remember it’s not one size fits all. Each team member has a different motivator and you as a leader have a responsibility to figure that out. For example one of my team members is very reward driven. She likes points, prizes etc and she’s high performing when that’s present. Another team member love words of affirmation and does well when she hears how well she’s doing. The main thing to remember is once you identify the cause, modify to your team as needed. And not in the way that you like! The way the team member needs it ;)

Most of the time poor performance and low motivation are linked. As a manager you can: - Look at your top performers: have you been investing enough time with them lately? What are they doing that the rest of the team can learn from? Which behaviors specifically? - Look at your average performers: what are their strengths? How can you help them use more of their strengths for the benefit of the team? Can you reshuffle R&Rs to better align responsibilities and strengths? - Look at your low performers: on a matrix of will and skills, how are they positioned? Do they have the will to succeed and could benefit from mentoring or coaching? If no will and no skill, how can you manage them out in the cleanest way possible?

To enhance team performance amidst underperforming members, clarify expectations, provide support, offer regular feedback, invest in training, set clear goals, foster collaboration, recognize achievements, and promptly address issues through open communication.

Definitely, this is when the gained trust from your team members will pay off. To be able to have an honest and open conversation is a must and a critical step to be able to find the root cause as soon as possible.

If there is a problem with performance, it’s important to remain open curious about why. Don’t just assume there is something wrong with the employee. Taking the time to find the root is key. Opening conversations and gathering several perspectives is just one step. This means talking with the supervisor, other team members and then asking the employee powerful questions. Maybe it’s personal or maybe it’s something more. It’s also important to look back at the onboarding process. 👉🏻Was there an adequate training process? 👉🏻Have the expectations and responsibilities of the role been clearly defined? 👉🏻How often is the supervisor checking in for understanding? Again, don’t just assume it’s an employee issue.

For the unconscious the other person doesn't exist. The micromanager is the same as the controlling parent the employees had when they were young. Example: ⬅️Past: Your mother screaming at you constantly when you were young: 🗣️ "Come inside now and finish your studies." 5 minutes later: 🗣️ "I see that you're still not done, have you not been studying? What have you been doing?" 📍Present: Micromanager 🗣️ "Did you do what I told you to do 10 minutes ago? How come you didn't? What were you doing?" ➡️Bottom line: The employees will feel the same annoying pressure they felt when their mother was constantly telling them what to do. The difference between a micromanager and a leader is the ability to be vulnerable.

Identifying the root cause requires you to go heavy on emotional intelligence skills. 1. Emotional Self-Awareness: You may feel frustrated, stressed and anger because the work is not getting done. Accept these and let them go. 2. Emotional Expression: You may communicate from a mindset that is emotionally charged as you feel anger, frustrated and stressed. Be mindful on how you communicate to understand what is going on. 3. Empathy: Putting yourself in their world to understand whether this is sporadic low performance or chronic underperformance. 4. Impulse control: Underperformance can trigger intense emotions and allow you to loose your temper. Practice staying grounded to better understand what is going on.

When some team members are not doing well, it's helpful to address the issue openly and constructively. First, communicate expectations clearly, so everyone knows what's expected. Find out the reasons for underperformance by talking to the team members individually and listening to their challenges. Offer support and training where needed, and consider redistributing tasks to match skills. Encourage open communication within the team and provide regular feedback. Recognize and celebrate achievements to boost morale. By addressing underperformance with understanding and support, you can help the team improve collectively.

Constructive feedback can be quite tricky as we could easily deviate to a pampering chat trying someone to feel not so bad about their underperforming situation. It is key to keep an eye on the situation that we would like to improve, understand its root cause and add an accurate solution plan so that feedback focuses on helping understanding where they were and where we want them to be, following realistic steps while leaning on you to achieve our common goal, a successful contributor, aware of their underperforming situation and motivated enough to get to an optimal performance.

Once you understand whether it is sporadic low performance or chronic under performance, you are better positioned to give feedback. With the former, with the right support and motivation you can help shift your team into higher performance levels as before. Maybe they are going through a hard time, loss or a challenging period. With the latter however, if it is chronic underperformance, this is a sign of deeper core issues. Maybe they are not at the right job for them, perhaps they have no intention to improve their performance if they get away with the bare minimum. You can give constructive feedback and at the same time stay realistic and present to ensure their behaviour does not negatively impact others in your team.

Your look out has to be to improve situation of underperformance rather than blaming Making sure the person understands the effects of underperformance is quintessential

Understanding the root cause of the underperformance is the first action item you need to take. Understanding the why is the way forward. You need to assess the following: 1. Does the team have the adequate human capital to achieve? 2. Does the team have the resources, training, tools, and software to achieve? 3. Does the team receive the proper guidance, feedback and mentoring to achieve? 4. Does the team understand what the goal is and why it has been put in place? If any of the above questions have a “No” as an answer, that’s where you should begin fixing the problem. After you have fixed those issues, then you can provide feedback on performance. It’s crucial to approach these issues with a mentor mindset!

In my experience giving feedback is more important than keeping quiet. Constructive feedback is the key as it should allow the team member to have an open mind in a psychologically safe environment to accept the situation!

Constructuve feedback is crucial but it is not just making someone feel better. Constructive feedback also means to be honest and careful when determining everyone's responsibility in the underperforming situation. And in case it is a clift drop, it requires to listen and see beyond job itself as it can come from a personnal situation (health, family, economic situation, etc...). In that case your role is NOT to offer constructive feedback but try to act more as a coach. It means, take by hand your colleague and help him/her to make the difficult questions he/she should answer. And sometimes, if it is personnal and the person don't want to share it, just help him/her to understand the implications of the perfomance in his overall situation

Yes, providing good feedback to assist teams to improve performance is critical. But feedback on what? If it isn't systems-based feedback, it's probably useless. To improve outputs ("performance"), we must improve the systems. Will feedback help the team identify root causes and remove them from the systems?

Based on my experience, unless it is a mismatched hire, underperformance originates from the higher levels in an organization. Either an organizational strategy is missing or hasn't been adequately communicated. This can result in employees feeling disconnected from how they contribute to the broader goals of the company. Add to that vague roles and expectations and people disengage and pull back on their contribution. Use self-awareness to determine what may be missing for employees, and address what you can to course-correct. Then use your EI skills to influence and motivate your team toward achieving their potential.

If the entire team is underperforming, it's (high) time to ask what the manager is doing wrong. A team, properly supported and motivated will not underperform, all at once. This is a sign of no/poor leadership.

Leader, it's not your job to lay out all the expectations for someone like a manual. It is your job to have an EXPECTATION SETTING CONVERSATION where you attempt to share what success looks like and listen to how your team member is interpreting that. During the conversation, it's your job to correct false assumptions and misunderstanding that person has so the two of you are ALIGNED on what success looks like.

This is also crucial as allows you to define the game rules. As it happens in any game (football for instance), no one will complain if you get the ball with your hands as it is forbidden, right? Same applies to business and performance. If you clarify cristal clear expectations and goals, everyone can measure his/her contribution to them and evaluate itself. It is amaizing how people is honest when evaluating themselfs when "game rules" are clear...

It is kind of like setting boundaries, in a full life cycle approach. Often when we set boundaries in forms of 'this is what I expect from you', people will test your boundaries. We learned this early on as kids, and we continue to do so as adults. The problem is not necessarily the testing, but the lack of accountability. Let's say you are clear on being on time. If someone is late for the first time, you may let it pass because it happens. You ask: Are you ok? If the continue to be late, what are your consequences? How will you demonstrate the consequences of not respecting your boundaries? If you are not clear, you may become angry with them or vent your frustration which will only look bad on you and create space for gossip.

Yes, setting clear expectations and goals is good management. However, we must remember we're only going to get what the systems can deliver no matter the expectations or goals set by management or leadership. Here we see the chasm between traditional top/down, command and control management and systems-based management. A legacy top/down manager/leader assumes workers control outputs and "performance", which 94% of the time is systems-based. A systems-based manager will set goals that take into account both the condition of existing systems (outputs) and potential for staff-led improvement of those systems.

Setting clear expectations with goals with specific timelines is key. We should agree regarding the same and work together to achieve the same. We should be supporting as an individual and as a team to the team member to get back on track.

Setting clear expectations and goals is essential for enhancing team performance. Utilize your emotional intelligence to effectively communicate your vision, values, and standards, ensuring they align with the team's purpose and objectives. Implement SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to define and articulate success parameters. This clarity aids team members in understanding what is expected of them and how their contributions drive collective success. Regularly monitor and track progress, providing consistent feedback and recognition. This not only keeps team members informed of their performance but also motivates them through acknowledgment of their efforts and achievements.

Para turbinar o desempenho do time, nada bate traçar metas e expectativas claras pra todo mundo. Dá pra usar aquela sua inteligência emocional pra compartilhar a visão, valores e padrões, alinhando tudo com o propósito do time. Podemos usar também a SMART (específico, mensurável, alcançável, relevante e com prazo) pra definir como o sucesso vai parecer, como medir e reconhecer os resultados? Ah, e não esquece de ficar de olho no progresso do pessoal, sempre dando feedback e reconhecimento regular. Assim, todo mundo fica na mesma página e remando pro mesmo lado!

Underperformance may lead to trailing effect and the MOST impactful aspect is demotivation to the underperformer As a manager - one has to be supportive to help suppress negativity especially in very closeknit team As a colleague - one has to be empathetic and helpful At the same time, its important we need to make sure the underperformer knows the effects of the acts. Hence 1. Set clear goals which are incremental 2. Set timelines which are realistic 3. Set individual as well as team goals for the person 4. Expectations around the goals have to be spoken clearly for both ends not to lose the importance

Lack of trust and siloed work environments can result in an underperforming team. It is crucial to evaluate communication strategies, conflict resolution efforts, and past failures. When a team member underperforms, having a trustworthy team to navigate through the failure is necessary. Siloed work environments hinder collaboration and often lead to blame game situations. Collaborative team efforts yield better outcomes. Reflecting on project outcomes, where all skills contribute to success or failure, is a strategy for future success. Sometimes, having additional voices asking "have you considered?" can provide much-needed perspective. Also, hearing the voice of someone invested in your success can provide stress relief.

Enhancing team performance involves fostering collaboration and trust. Use emotional intelligence to cultivate a positive team culture where members feel valued, respected, and empowered. Encourage sharing of ideas, opinions, and feedback, promoting mutual listening and learning. Assign roles based on strengths and interests to encourage teamwork, and create opportunities for team interaction and bonding. This approach strengthens trust and cooperation, vital for high-performing teams.

In my experience empowerment based off of direction, clear expectations and follow up can lead a team member to gain confidence hence helping others around them. You have to be there at all times of this process providing guidance however not interfering in their learning process just to backing your team up for any speed bumps they may hit along their journey.

This is a journey and not a sprint, or a marathon. So being patience, letting go of control and attachment is key for success. Some of your team members may increase their performance immediately, others it will take longer. The more you understand what motivates and incentivises your team member, the better you will be able to empower them and build trust. The other important factor is to embody the principle of self-discipline over motivation. It is only normal that we won't feel motivated all the time, but still we need to show up. Your ability to keep communicating the vision, also on the days when emotions get in the way, is what can help keep performance steady and sustainable.

Teamwork is defined by the emotional energy of each individual on the team. Emotions from love/support are the centerpiece of teamwork. Emotions from fear create separation from others on the team and prevent teamwork. The human mind, which produces emotional energy from both love and fear, is, like the physical universe, systematic. In nature, 100% of outcomes are systems-based. When the human mind is involved in creating man-made systems, the output number drops to about 94%. We, as managers and leaders, cannot dictate how people feel. We can't dictate teamwork. We can, however, create safe space for team members to feel the emotions from love. This must be done using a "pull" strategy, 100% voluntary, with no push from anyone.

To build trust a leader needs to be honest about their own weaknesses and mistakes. By showing their own vulnerability makes it easier for their teams to trust them.

Trust is built through behaviors like keeping commitments and clarifying expectations. Creat an environment of effective collaboration.

Listening, sharing, communicating, brainstorming, ideating, building trust, showing empathy and understanding fosters goal achievement and also leads to individual growth! The skill is to identify the positives of each and allow them to build that further. - Openly communicate - Have timely feedback - Set SMART Goals - Keep the channels of communication open and a space for redressal if any - Take idea breaks/ sharing breaks / stress breaks./ to release and problem solve then and there then the team to scaffold the issues. -Encourage quick actions -Aim for objective and workable solutions

When addressing underperformance in a team, coaching and mentoring can be transformative. It starts with understanding individual challenges and providing tailored support. Coaching helps in setting clear, achievable goals and working alongside team members to develop the skills needed to reach them. Mentoring goes a step further, offering guidance, sharing experiences, and helping team members navigate their career paths. These approaches not only boost performance but also build confidence and engagement. Remember, effective performance improvement is about empowering team members to realize their potential through supportive leadership.

Coaching and mentoring is great. Systems-based coaching and mentoring is better. The term, "underperforming" assumes people control outputs. Because systems control outputs, workers often are blamed for systems problems over which they have no control. This is poor management and leadership and often quite demoralizing for workers. Instead, train staff how to make systems visible and identify root causes of problems and support them in doing so with staff-led systems improvement. This is powerful team-building!

As mentioned earlier once the goals and timelines are set we need to offer coaching and mentoring for the team member to achieve their goals and become a better performer. Coaching will include high level steps which will help the team member. Mentoring will give some exact steps on how to achieve the goals

Coaching and Mentonring is not only for high performers. Actually, great leaders have the duty to coach and mentor underperformers and surround them by an ecosystem (people and resources) to secure they can overperform again if they truly want to. But also it is leader's duty to coach and mentor overperformers to secure they keep growing to become an example for others and they can excel to a promotion and foster their professional career growth

As a leader, how you show up influences how team members respond. Engaging with a trained, vetted and experienced professional coach will go a long ways to creating an environment that fosters improved performance. Grow yourself first, so you can help others grow as well. No amount of massaging a situation will yield results until the leader does the work, first.

Utilizar habilidades de inteligência emocional para orientar e motivar sua equipe é fundamental para impulsionar o desempenho. Um livro que oferece insights valiosos sobre liderança e coaching é "Leadership and Self-Deception" de Arbinger Institute. Essa leitura pode aprimorar sua compreensão sobre a importância da empatia e do apoio individualizado na promoção do crescimento da equipe.

To enhance team performance, offer coaching and mentoring to members needing support. Utilize emotional intelligence to be a role model, facilitator, and motivator. Assist them in skill development and confidence building through resources, training, and support. Encourage them to set and achieve personal goals, overcoming challenges. Celebrate their achievements and reward their efforts, fostering a culture of continuous learning and recognition.

Coaching and mentoring is absolutely essential for an underperformer 1. Please motivate others to speak to the person 2. Make sure person is guided to the learning paths 3. Study the underperformance aspect and provide appropriate support - coaching/mentoring OR both More importantly speak with the person , hear her/him out

Be clear about what coaching is. Telling - giving an instruction has short term wins and needs constant repetition. Mentoring - Giving ideas and sharing experiences. Coaching - Asking questions and making observations to help someone bypass a barrier and support them in achieving their goal.

We could Pair underperforming team members with mentors or buddies within the team. This can provide additional support, guidance, and a positive influence. in the same way Managers also actively involved in supporting underperforming team members. Leadership support is crucial for creating a positive and motivating work environment

Something that I've observed is a reluctance to have tough, direct conversations leading to not only prolonged underperformance but also resentment of the larger team. It's important to be clear and direct with people to allow them the dignity of awareness and then also a pathway and support to correct the issues. It's easy and in my opinion, lazy to assume that someone is merely slacking. I think that most people genuinely want to do well and succeed. If you start with this assumption, you can figure out whether or not they are capable or well suited and also if it turns out that they are not, help them find their pathway to success even if it's not on your team or this role. That is our responsibility as leaders.

Especially in today's hybrid and remote working environment, challenges and issues we face in one area of our life (e.g. health, relationships, finances, family, etc.) can have a serious negative impact on our life area of career and work. Now if you are a leader who feels that strong boundaries should be maintained between professional and personal lives, you may not have a lot of success in driving high performing teams. Because it does not reflect reality. But if you understand that lines are blurred, and you offer support but at the same time expect investment and effort on their side - you can forge a partnership and make it work. People are not processes to be managed, they are human beings to be led, guided and inspired.

When employees are underperforming, it is due to: - Lack of approval and appraisal - Postponing tough conversations - Lack of incentives - Lack of vulnerable communication

Underperformance is often a reflection of a bigger problem. It’s not the work; it’s what the work represents. It is important to approach conversations with a open mind to understand what might be wrong. When this is identified, it is important to go ahead and deploy tools to address it. Is the team overworked? Do they need a break? Do they not have the skill to tackle recent work demands? Etc These and many more will contribute to addressing the issue.

Make sure that the current role is still motivating for them. If not, draw together a career path with clear timelines and actions and offer a clear perspective on the next move. Make sure that they have the right set of critical skills to do the job. Some of the skills can be easily aquired, others not so much. Evaluate the gap and establish if you can fill it within a reasonable time with reasonable resources. Make sure that the role is suitable for them and effectively uses and highlights their strong points. If not, a change of role or even career might be the right solution.

Constructive feedback, set clear expectations, provide training, and maintain open communication. acknowledge achievements, and adjust tasks based on strengths. If issues persist, implement performance improvement plans or necessary interventions for sustained team success.

Understanding that our team member is a human being, not just a chess piece, is crucial. Emotional intelligence (EI) helps us become aware of the emotions of other people, creating empathy and enabling us to approach them and inquire about their well-being. It allows us to act accordingly and offer support if needed. To enhance our awareness of others' feelings, we can practice by learning to listen to our own emotions. Observing ourselves helps us comprehend the complexity of our feelings and emotions and how they connect to the decisions we make. Through consistent practice, we develop the ability to see others, including our team members, as fellow human beings first. Exactly just like us.

We could also consider below 2 points Training and Skill Development: Provide opportunities for training and skill development to address specific gaps in knowledge or abilities. PIP: Develop clear Performance Improvement Plans for individuals who consistently underperform.

If it is clift drop (sudden) or slow down it is crucial to understand how to approach to the overall situation, even professional or personnal or a mix of them. Normally clift drop it is due to a sudden problem and it requires a "quick action" to countermeasure it. In case of slow down drop, it normally comes from an aglomeration of circumstances and it normally requires a more long term approach and a slow removal, which defines your action plan to restore the performing situation. And finally, if it has no solution because the person has changed the mind about the job, then simply help them to move to the next step and manage the fade out - fade in" together