When a problem with a subordinate appears, it need not be a sign of incompetence or evil intentions. Beware of reacting solely on the basis of your gut feeling. Pause for a little while and confirm that you are solving the right problem – in other words, a problem that actually exists.
The key idea boils down to not overreacting to something that is happening for the first time. Nor should you ignore it but, before taking action, you need to think twice. Ask yourself the following questions, is the advice from the management-issues.com website:
- Has this behaviour or problem appeared before?
- Why has it happened now?
- What is the root cause of this problem? Are you absolutely sure about its source?
- Might it be a mere mistake, a misunderstanding … or is something genuinely unpleasant going on?
- Is this problem connected to a person, a process or a resource?
If the team is scattered geographically, you may base your actions and decisions on very short and limited interactions. Such a small sample, however, is of extremely limited value. If you are not meeting and interacting with others on a daily basis, ÿou could create a distorted impression of events. Then you may often over-react or, on the contrary, wait until it’s too late.
Know when to act
Perhaps a subordinate has missed a deadline because the necessary resources were not available. Might that not be the case, rather than assuming they are incompetent or have just decided to ruin your life? Don’t assume that something is deliberate sabotage or a personal failure if it well may be simply a one-off problem.
At the same time, you should not let poor results or mistakes go without comment. If the problem recurs, don’t procrastinate and address the issue before it is too late to act.
-jk-