Opinion: Enough of the wishy-washy bosses

Jeff, a small-business owner with 40 employees, hesitated to confront an individual on his management team. He decided to overlook the problem and hoped the employee would change freely. Unfortunately, that strategy didn’t work.

The task of talking with an employee about a performance issue prompts leaders like Jeff to seek advice. After all, they don’t want to say something that makes a good employee quit.

They have questions such as, “Should I say something or just let it go?” and “How long should I wait before bringing it up?” or “How do I say it without upsetting them?”

Granted, the risk of losing a good employee can be a legitimate concern. But should it cause a boss to go soft on confronting work performance altogether? Avoidance has ramifications too.

For example, most top-performing employees expect management to hold low performers accountable. What’s more, avoidance compromises genuine efforts to improve results. How can you improve what’s not discussed?

Several of my clients no longer hold employee performance reviews, others do, but they won’t allow their managers to say anything explicitly critical. Is this the kind of workplace good employees want? Hardly.

The best employees want a boss who makes expectations and standards clear. They want someone unafraid to hold everyone accountable and track performance closely. In contrast, low performers want managers to be hands-off, go easy on performance, and allow people to show up and draw a paycheck for the minimum amount of work.

Imagine what managers and supervisors must think when they’re told to produce results but speak to employees in toned-down generalities such as, “Please watch your deadlines more closely,” and “Try to get here a little earlier,” or “Let’s work on our customer communications.”

It’s confusing for employees, too. The lack of substantive feedback doesn’t help the person wanting to advance.

People appreciate candor from a boss. One client, for example, had an entire department with a love-hate relationship with their boss. On the one hand, the employees loved that his expectations were clear, and there was never any guesswork about where you stood with him. On the other hand, he could be too direct or harsh about mistakes. Still, they rated him one of the most effective, respected leaders in the company.

It’s challenging to manage people today. The pressure for better results, reduced costs, good talent and faster customer response times in today’s climate exacts a toll on even the best organizations and their managers. Having a few management strategies can be helpful:

1. Be informed. Get involved by staying engaged and knowing how each team member is doing. No one respects a “no news is good news” approach to performance.
2. Apply clear standards equally. Allowing someone to get away with shoddy work eventually affects everyone. It’s unfair to hold some people accountable and not others.
3. Don’t avoid conflicts. One client had a manager who created a hotbed of discontent on the second shift because he wasn’t comfortable confronting a challenging issue. There’s nothing to gain from being the too-nice boss that sidesteps tough discussions and decisions.
4. Give direction. People will appreciate your guidance and feedback if you focus on high standards and emphasize results. Strength as a manager comes from clarity, caring and candor.
5. Don’t make matters worse. Tolerating an employee who spends hours each week on their cellphone but shows up for work on time is demoralizing to the employees who show up on time and don’t waste time. If someone needs discipline, give it.

There’s significant competition for recruiting and retaining talent, which can cause some managers to take a people-pleasing, more hands-off approach to employee performance. Don’t be that manager. Develop healthy accountability and direct, honest feedback with your team.

Consultant, professional speaker and author Mark Holmes is president of Springfield-based Consultant Board Inc. and MarkHolmesGroup.com. He can be reached at mark@markholmesgroup.com.