I recently worked with a company that had a problem with a department in their organization. They were very unhappy with how the department head was running things and were considering replacing them and revamping the whole department.
My question was very simple: "Do they clearly know what you expected of them, and did they have the training to do the job properly?"
It turns out this person had been promoted because they worked closely with the previous department head. The promotion had been one of convenience for the company really, and they had just assumed the person had the training they needed because of whom they had worked with previously. But to top it off, the company hadn't been satisfied with that head either and planned to let them go, except the person moved away and saved them the trouble.
In other words, the person leading the department now was leading it the same way they had seen the previous leader do, and no one in upper management had taken the time to really explain what they wanted or how the department should be run. They just assumed all was well and didn't even check on things until it had been running for years in an off-kilter way that eventually took the whole thing off the rails.
Whose fault is that? The department head for leading a failed department? Or how about the upper management team who never gave that person proper training and guidance? They never even bothered with progress reports or even yearly evaluations. The department head just assumed they were doing it right because no one ever told them anything to the contrary.
If you are dissatisfied with the way something is being done in your company, the question has to be: Do they really know what you want?
You can't assume someone should know what you want simply because you know what you want. If they haven't had it clearly explained and haven't had the proper training, that is all on you as the leader. Before you decide to demote, replace, or terminate a leader in your team for failure at their job, just make sure they knew exactly what you wanted.
I have a friend who works for another company in a similar situation. He literally has no idea what kind of job he's doing. He is in several meetings with upper management and hears them talking about various other team members and how disappointed they are in them. Unfortunately, they never talk to the people and give them a chance to improve. Instead, the people work completely oblivious to their job shortcomings until they are brought in and terminated. Some of the people even have good results that would seem to offer job security, but upper management doesn't see it that way.
My friend lives in constant fear of the day he is brought in for "the talk". The sad thing is that he's doing a great job and is capable of so much more, and yet he hasn't been given the guidance and direction to truly be effective. And all it would take to bring in a whole new level of success is just a clear and honest assessment of his work and what he could do to improve.
Look at your team this week and if there is anyone you are considering for replacement, ask yourself the tough questions: when is the last time you talked to them about their performance? When did they receive training for their job?
Retaining and retraining are usually much more effective than cutting loose and starting over.
Comments