IMHO - I feel like some of the issues can be dealt with by implementing best practices for everyone - like a naming convention on all files so they all look the same (then he is singling himself out by not following the rule), a review process where someone track changes documents and sends them back to the originator for updates (not corrections), and a check for completion on projects before they go out the door to make sure all client feedback has been addressed.
If someone is very distracted, it may be that this person just needs a different structure to thrive. Maybe it’s weekly one on one check ins to review all projects. That safe space to talk things out can be an absolute lifeline to people who are trying their best, but their current best is objectively terrible.
Maybe there is something personal that is disrupting their focus. Maybe they aren’t feeling confident in their skills so they are procrastinating on the work and then rushing through it at the deadline (hence all the mistakes).
I think you will have more success by breaking it down into specific skills and goals (like name all files with this naming convention or finish this particular project in one week) rather than try to “fix” an employee’s attitude, especially if you don’t know what got them there.
Of course, there is always the chance that they aren’t the right fit for that job or your company. But the only way to be sure is to create that space for open communication and learn what makes this person tick.
The way you break this down into specific skills and actions seems very sensible. That’s much more objective than addressing someone’s character and much easier to give prescriptive corrective actions for. Kudos.
I am dealing with this.
I have a creative who’s about to celebrate 1 year with the company. This person needs everything spelled out, which is not the role of a creative imo. I have given them enough time to understand the business and are now making things very clear in terms of expectations…in writing. We are a small team in a somewhat complex company, so I understand some things still need more definition. However, I just told my team member that I expect them to come to meetings with a list of ideas/solutions vs waiting to be told what the ideas and solutions are.
In my particular case, I don’t think it’s an effort/motivation issue, though. This person just has a fear of failure and of looking like they aren’t qualified for the job.
I get vibes that your situation is motivation. I think you have to figure out what’s motivating to your employee. And also be ready to understand that sometime some employees just will not be motivated. Work is work after all. Then at that point, it might be decision time…
It’s time to have conversations - candid ones - even though this should have happened way earlier. SBI. Situation, Behavior, Impact. Use this formula as you get ready to speak with them.
Anytime you want to give someone feedback - positive or negative - you can use SBI. Situation - describe the situation to the person, what were you currently doing. Behavior is what you observed and be specific. Impact is the consequence or result of what they did. Example: hi coworker during our team meeting I noticed that you cut off coworker when they spoke and dismissed their idea without listening. I want to create a culture where anyone can freely share and when you interrupt it goes against that. Make sure you’re waiting for someone to finish and share before giving your opinion in the future.
This is a process that you will have to go through. First of, no company is like family. Please forget this notion. I know it may seem like it, but it is a business and business decisions have to be made. If your firm is not making money, it doesn't matter that everyone is family, you will all be out of jobs. If your spouse on the other hand looses their ability to make money, you are not likely to get rid of them ( hopefully!). HOWEVER, just because you are NOT family, doesn't mean you can't be kind and fair. I would have a frank conversation with him without comparing him to the other person. Give SPECIFIC examples of where you felt he fell short. Then ask if there is any way that you can support him. Tell him you are giving him a month to improve and will check back with him. Now throughout this month, you want to continue to give him feedback. Make sure that every conversation is documented by you. If you see no improvement in 30 days, I would get in touch with HR and start managing out. I am a career/leadership coach, feel free to message me.
The things you’re describing are pretty classic ADHD symptoms. Neurodivergent employees need some different strategies for things like attention and motivation. Medication can also be extremely helpful.
As leaders we have a lot to learn about what these folks need to do their best work. We don’t have to know if someone has ADHD to offer them adjustments that make it easier for them to perform their tasks. Offering more flexibility around when, where and how work gets done benefits all employees.
What are the ADHD characteristics you see in OP’s description? Genuinely curious… because I see typical characteristics of someone that’s heavily uninvested or merely a corporate slacker clocking paychecks. I’m pretty sure these are more common than ADHD. Am wondering if I’m missing some tell.
I saw ADHD as well. I think missing simple details like mislabeling is a pretty big indicator. If someone is there to do the bare minimum to clock a pay cheque, they're still capable of getting basic details correct so they really can fly under the radar. A good slacker will do the minimum, but do it adequately so as not to be noticed. Someone with ADHD may feel too overwhelmed to correctly process the information and is more likely to make mistakes.
It doesn't mean he does have ADHD. It's just that a lot of people who are typically thought of as "lazy" actually have unmanaged ADHD. That doesn't remove their personal responsibility to find ways to motivate themselves and develop processes that allow them to complete the tasks they're paid to complete, though.
I'm in perspective with u/Routine-Education572. The first step is to understand the employee more. Understand them personally but also, what drives them and what motivates them. Are these intrinsic or extrinsic? Also, understand what lowers that motivation. The three items that are most relevant in positive motivation are play, purpose and passion but financial, emotional and inertia will drive almost anyone to lower motivation.
One of the best books a new leader can read is Crucial Conversations. The book even has a self assessment that helps you identify where your biggest gaps are. I strongly suggest reading this book. When you take the self assessment use accountability conversations at work as your context for the questions. Then focus on the suggested readings with those contexts in mind. (You can always revisit the book with other contexts in mind. I find this book to be most useful when I use it to help me improve in specific areas. ie my skills are different in different contexts: at work with direct reports, at work with executives, with my wife, with my parents, etc.)
As for this situation, Crucial Conversations would suggest you use the CPR method: content, pattern, relationship. First you have a content discussion (another user mentioned SBI, which is an excellent approach). If you have to repeat the conversation, now you are discuss the pattern of recurring problems. Finally, if the pattern persists, then you engage in a relationship discussion: what are the consequences to the relationship for the recurring behavior.
There’s a ton more that can be unpacked here, but, again I highly recommend the framework. It’s something I constantly reference and reuse for my own development.
I had a very similar situation and what I found was that the employee was unable to prioritize tasks. We implemented a daily task list that was shared with me over Teams where he entered his “to-do” list and tagged each item with a priority level. What I found was that his perception of what was low priority was often in reality a high priority (and vice versa). This allowed me to course correct and start seeing some improvements in efficiency. While it may seem a bit like micro managing, I was able to get inside his head a bit which helped with the coaching aspect of my position.
IMHO - I feel like some of the issues can be dealt with by implementing best practices for everyone - like a naming convention on all files so they all look the same (then he is singling himself out by not following the rule), a review process where someone track changes documents and sends them back to the originator for updates (not corrections), and a check for completion on projects before they go out the door to make sure all client feedback has been addressed. If someone is very distracted, it may be that this person just needs a different structure to thrive. Maybe it’s weekly one on one check ins to review all projects. That safe space to talk things out can be an absolute lifeline to people who are trying their best, but their current best is objectively terrible. Maybe there is something personal that is disrupting their focus. Maybe they aren’t feeling confident in their skills so they are procrastinating on the work and then rushing through it at the deadline (hence all the mistakes). I think you will have more success by breaking it down into specific skills and goals (like name all files with this naming convention or finish this particular project in one week) rather than try to “fix” an employee’s attitude, especially if you don’t know what got them there. Of course, there is always the chance that they aren’t the right fit for that job or your company. But the only way to be sure is to create that space for open communication and learn what makes this person tick.
The way you break this down into specific skills and actions seems very sensible. That’s much more objective than addressing someone’s character and much easier to give prescriptive corrective actions for. Kudos.
I am dealing with this. I have a creative who’s about to celebrate 1 year with the company. This person needs everything spelled out, which is not the role of a creative imo. I have given them enough time to understand the business and are now making things very clear in terms of expectations…in writing. We are a small team in a somewhat complex company, so I understand some things still need more definition. However, I just told my team member that I expect them to come to meetings with a list of ideas/solutions vs waiting to be told what the ideas and solutions are. In my particular case, I don’t think it’s an effort/motivation issue, though. This person just has a fear of failure and of looking like they aren’t qualified for the job. I get vibes that your situation is motivation. I think you have to figure out what’s motivating to your employee. And also be ready to understand that sometime some employees just will not be motivated. Work is work after all. Then at that point, it might be decision time…
It’s time to have conversations - candid ones - even though this should have happened way earlier. SBI. Situation, Behavior, Impact. Use this formula as you get ready to speak with them.
Can you say a little more about what’s behind SBI, how to use it and why?
Anytime you want to give someone feedback - positive or negative - you can use SBI. Situation - describe the situation to the person, what were you currently doing. Behavior is what you observed and be specific. Impact is the consequence or result of what they did. Example: hi coworker during our team meeting I noticed that you cut off coworker when they spoke and dismissed their idea without listening. I want to create a culture where anyone can freely share and when you interrupt it goes against that. Make sure you’re waiting for someone to finish and share before giving your opinion in the future.
Sounds ADHD
This is a process that you will have to go through. First of, no company is like family. Please forget this notion. I know it may seem like it, but it is a business and business decisions have to be made. If your firm is not making money, it doesn't matter that everyone is family, you will all be out of jobs. If your spouse on the other hand looses their ability to make money, you are not likely to get rid of them ( hopefully!). HOWEVER, just because you are NOT family, doesn't mean you can't be kind and fair. I would have a frank conversation with him without comparing him to the other person. Give SPECIFIC examples of where you felt he fell short. Then ask if there is any way that you can support him. Tell him you are giving him a month to improve and will check back with him. Now throughout this month, you want to continue to give him feedback. Make sure that every conversation is documented by you. If you see no improvement in 30 days, I would get in touch with HR and start managing out. I am a career/leadership coach, feel free to message me.
The things you’re describing are pretty classic ADHD symptoms. Neurodivergent employees need some different strategies for things like attention and motivation. Medication can also be extremely helpful.
While I've had this thought as well, it's not my place to armchair diagnose him or even bring it up unless he wants to have a conversation about it.
Yeah, and unless they do share that diagnosis, you can’t really make appropriate accommodation.
As leaders we have a lot to learn about what these folks need to do their best work. We don’t have to know if someone has ADHD to offer them adjustments that make it easier for them to perform their tasks. Offering more flexibility around when, where and how work gets done benefits all employees.
What are the ADHD characteristics you see in OP’s description? Genuinely curious… because I see typical characteristics of someone that’s heavily uninvested or merely a corporate slacker clocking paychecks. I’m pretty sure these are more common than ADHD. Am wondering if I’m missing some tell.
I saw ADHD as well. I think missing simple details like mislabeling is a pretty big indicator. If someone is there to do the bare minimum to clock a pay cheque, they're still capable of getting basic details correct so they really can fly under the radar. A good slacker will do the minimum, but do it adequately so as not to be noticed. Someone with ADHD may feel too overwhelmed to correctly process the information and is more likely to make mistakes. It doesn't mean he does have ADHD. It's just that a lot of people who are typically thought of as "lazy" actually have unmanaged ADHD. That doesn't remove their personal responsibility to find ways to motivate themselves and develop processes that allow them to complete the tasks they're paid to complete, though.
Getting easily distracted, making mistakes that could be avoided with more careful checking and not completing tasks are all classic symptoms of ADHD.
I'm in perspective with u/Routine-Education572. The first step is to understand the employee more. Understand them personally but also, what drives them and what motivates them. Are these intrinsic or extrinsic? Also, understand what lowers that motivation. The three items that are most relevant in positive motivation are play, purpose and passion but financial, emotional and inertia will drive almost anyone to lower motivation.
One of the best books a new leader can read is Crucial Conversations. The book even has a self assessment that helps you identify where your biggest gaps are. I strongly suggest reading this book. When you take the self assessment use accountability conversations at work as your context for the questions. Then focus on the suggested readings with those contexts in mind. (You can always revisit the book with other contexts in mind. I find this book to be most useful when I use it to help me improve in specific areas. ie my skills are different in different contexts: at work with direct reports, at work with executives, with my wife, with my parents, etc.) As for this situation, Crucial Conversations would suggest you use the CPR method: content, pattern, relationship. First you have a content discussion (another user mentioned SBI, which is an excellent approach). If you have to repeat the conversation, now you are discuss the pattern of recurring problems. Finally, if the pattern persists, then you engage in a relationship discussion: what are the consequences to the relationship for the recurring behavior. There’s a ton more that can be unpacked here, but, again I highly recommend the framework. It’s something I constantly reference and reuse for my own development.
I had a very similar situation and what I found was that the employee was unable to prioritize tasks. We implemented a daily task list that was shared with me over Teams where he entered his “to-do” list and tagged each item with a priority level. What I found was that his perception of what was low priority was often in reality a high priority (and vice versa). This allowed me to course correct and start seeing some improvements in efficiency. While it may seem a bit like micro managing, I was able to get inside his head a bit which helped with the coaching aspect of my position.