In the workplace, nothing is more dreadful than having to sit with an employee and pull them up when they are falling short in one way or another. Having difficult conversations with the team is just that, difficult. It is a skill that all leaders have to master though, because at some point an issue will arise that requires you to step up and step in. Leaving an issue alone and not treating with it ultimately makes it worse whether you recognize it or not. Here are some tips to get you through:
1. Prepare. You do not want to wing a difficult conversation. If you are going to speak with an employee about shortcomings in their performance, you have to have all your supporting documentation at hand and have examples ready to present to them at the meeting. Aim to be concise and factual. Being prepared also helps you to feel in control and not as if you are unreasonably confronting the person. Have notes with you that you can reference while in the meeting so that you stay on track.
2. Listen. Allow the employee to respond to what you have presented. Meeting with their direct report is already hard enough, be willing to listen as opposed to just mouthing off what the problem is. Their response will then guide the flow of the conversation. One tip that I researched and have previously applied was “sandwiching” the problem. This means that you start the meeting off by acknowledging the good that the employee is doing, followed by outlining the issue, then ending the meeting on a positive note – maybe expressing that you are confident that they have the potential to do better. You can assess the suitability of that tactic based on what you have to talk about.
3. Next steps. Determine together what are the next steps now that you have discussed the matter. Sticking with the example of the performance issue, express what changes you want to see made and a time frame by which you expect those changes to have taken effect. In addition settle on whether you will need to meet again to follow up and when. If you believe that additional training is required for the employee to improve, make the necessary arrangements to ensure that they attend accordingly. If it is a personal matter, your company’s employee assistance programme may be a good suggestion.
The art of having a difficult conversation lies in being prepared, being ready to listen and being able to follow through on the next steps. Try your best to tackle these conversations as soon as you can, and in so doing you will prove to your team that you are an efficient and effective leader. Good luck!
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