Let's face it, there's always the possibility that you're going to be faced with poor performance. And you're going to need to tackle it, because a manager lets poor performance go very soon loses all of their authority. So how are you going to do it? Well, the first and perhaps most important single thing is to be honest. So prepare well, to confront the situation and to confront it in an honest way. Do it respectfully, do it assertively, and you will succeed.

The second thing, almost as important is to do so in a timely manner. Because putting off confronting poor performance is only going to lead to it getting worse and worse and worse. It will start to undermine your authority. And let's face it, not confronting The underperformance isn't honest. So get it done. The first sensible opportunity, make sure that you have the opportunity to do it well, to prepare properly, and to do it in a private, appropriate setting.

When you tackle poor performance, an important part of the conversation is to set standards to make sure that the person who is underperforming fully understands the standards you're expecting of them, and therefore what good performance looks like. Because sometimes underperformance simply comes from a misguided direction, a lack of knowledge about what good performance really looks like. And when you spell out what good performance looks like, and shown how the performance you're getting, isn't meeting up to that To the point where you have to start to offer your support, offer your support in helping them to understand what they need to do to move in the direction of poor performance and offer your support as they do. So. Now, it's important to gauge the right amount of support to offer because if you offer too much support, what you're doing is undermining the extent to which you're showing them your trust.

You're also undermining them saying, well, I really believe you can succeed on your own. If you do believe they can succeed on their own, then offer to check in at appropriate times. This is partly about risk management. And it's partly about you being there, and showing that you care how the person performs. Before we recap those points, let me take you through a simple eight step process for an effective performance review meeting. Step one, is to make sure that you state the purpose of the meeting.

So there is no doubt in your mind and the other person's mind what you're there for. This is where the honesty starts. Second, set out your observations and make sure that they are observations, and it's not hearsay. You need to be able to evidence, any elements of underperformance. Step three, is to lay out the consequences of continuing this on under performance. This way the other person knows what their choice really is.

Step four, is to personalize it, and to say how the level of underperformance makes you feel, what it means to you, and why you care. And then Step five is to listen to the other person's perspective, invite them to speak, invite them to talk about how they feel about what they've heard. And whilst they will try to be defensive, encourage them to consciously and openly. It shouldn't be about them defending what they've done so much as talking about the choices they made, and how they see things, but be prepared. They may be emotions involved, and they may seek to defend themselves. Let them ask as many questions as they feel they need to and be prepared to take the time to answer their questions and clarify further.

What you're doing is trying to work towards the next step, step six. Step six is to help them to give some laid upon the specific actions that they're going to take to address the performance gap. If you spell out your observations clearly, and you've listened to them and they've listened to you, they should be able to figure out the changes they need to make. If they can't, then you may need to help them a little bit by pointing them in the direction of cause and effect. When you've done that, and they decided upon the actual data type, move to step seven. Step seven is where you move to a close in the conversation.

Summarize what you said. And more importantly, what you've heard them say, focus on the commitments they've made, and check that you're confident that they have made those commitments in good faith and intend to follow them up. And as you do this, this is the time to make sure that you've properly documented the agreements that you've made. Finally, step eight happens after the meeting, follow up on their commitments and yours. Make sure that you observe their performance. And critically, give them praise and recognition for the changes in their performance that they make.

So, to summarize four key things, if you're going to deal with poor performance, firstly, be absolutely honest. And secondly, do so in a timely manner. Third, set the standards that you expect to see. And fourth, offer your support. You will have to deal with poor performance at some stage in your Managerial career. But if you prepare well, and remember these four things, then you'll be able to do it in a professional, respectful and assertive manner.