Before you haul a poorly-performing employee over the coals, try to think about whether the whole problem is the employee's fault alone. Managers, or more precisely their style of leadership and ways of communication, are to a certain extent involved in how their team performs. According to themuse.com, the problem is on your side if you make the following mistakes.
1. You don't talk about goals
Your people need to know what goals they should accomplish as individuals and as a team, and also what goals you as their manager set for yourself. At the beginning of each quarter, you should repeat these goals and make sure they understand them. Tell them your goals verbally, share them in writing and talk about them with each employee so everyone knows what is expected of them.
2. You don't share feedback
If employees don't not know what they're doing wrong, they can't fix it. And if they only learn it from you once a year during performance evaluations, it's useless. Feedback should be shared immediately, within a week at the latest. However, sharing is not enough. You should share feedback in a way that is comprehensible and clearly shows employees what to improve. Vague recommendations such as "Improve your communication" are insufficient.
3. You contradict yourself
Employees may sometimes feel like you want them to do contradictory things. One week, for example, you need more autonomy from them, and the next you want to know about every detail. This is the same problem as feedback. To avoid any misunderstandings, you must communicate clearly and make sure the other party understands you. Keeping notes about your discussions on specific topics can help you.
4. You don't treat individuals differently
A good boss doesn't approach all employees in the same way, but takes the different personalities and skills of each individual into account. You need to find out which style of management and communication each employee prefers. You should also know the direction your subordinates want to develop in in the coming months. If you don't know, ask them.
5. You don't walk your talk
Remember that each manager is an example to his people. If you want them to do something you don't do yourself, you're a bad example and you won't get their respect. Behaving the way you want your employees to behave, however, may not be enough. You should inform them specifically that you are an example of the behavior you expect from them.
-kk-