Step Two -- Plan

Now that you've assessed factors that contribute to an employee's poor performance, you need to develop a strategy and action plan. Your goal is to turn a poor performer into a self-motivated, accomplished, powerful employee. Of course, if this is not possible, then kindest gift you can give this employee is freedom to find a more fitting job.

If employee and job role are not a match, find a better fit for employee within your organization. If there is none, then let employee go. Also, if you have not previously told your employee their job expectations, then discuss them in a professional and tactful manner. Also, let employee know that you will support him and monitor his growth.

You want employees who are both willing and able to do their job. When evaluating someone's willingness, look for specific things that a person says or does to indicate willingness or unwillingness. If an employee is unwilling, you need to discover reason for unwillingness and support person in resolving it. If someone does not have skills to do a job, training or mentoring can increase her ability.

Your proactive interaction with your staff is key to both their and your success. To improve manager/employee relationship, use a behavioral style profile assessment tool, such as Personal Profile System (DiSC), to understand yourself and those you manage. Also, have your staff take profile. The knowledge gained from accurate assessments promotes better communication, minimizes conflicts, and helps develop good rapport. You will also gain insight into how to help employees become self-motivated.

Conclusion

If you decide that employee can go from poor to powerful performance, then coach, monitor, and praise him. Develop a performance improvement plan together with employee, and help him move toward your mutual goals. Then monitor his achievements, give continuous feedback, and praise his accomplishments.

An accurate role description, sound hiring practices, and a manager's ability to foster strengths and talents of her staff leads to good job performance at onset. But, if an employee is not teachable, coachable, or praiseworthy, it is time to say goodbye. By documenting coaching sessions, problems, and performance, you will have paper trail that supports disengagement.

Good work relationships will relieve stress and can buffer you from other stresses. Spend five minutes of each hour considering how to get along with your co-workers.

4. Choose right job. During interviews, ask questions that help you make sure job's right for you. Get a realistic picture of company or department's culture, working relationships, problems and hidden agendas.

5. Be flexible. Recognize and accept that things change. If you need to hold on tightly to status quo, you need to loosen up. Think of your organization as a space ship. It's constantly correcting its course "to go where no man has gone before" in marketplace. You have to change with it. Be proactive. You're in a better position to maneuver if you are primed and ready.

6. Manage your anger. When you feel a surge of anger rising, back off and leave scene as soon as you can. Repeat in your mind: "let go" or "relax." Breathe deeply until you feel your tension leave.

Ask what's real reason for my anger? Gain perspective and plan your next step. Practice what you'll say and how you'll say it. Make sure you're calm and in control of your emotions. Approach person with a win-win attitude and desire to resolve problem and have a good working relationship.

7. Have realistic expectations. Don't set yourself up for disappointment or put yourself on an emotional roller coaster. Try to be optimistic and realistic at same time. This outlook doesn't mean you shouldn't have desires or expectations. Just make sure you're not always longing for impossible.

8. Adjust your attitude. Your attitude--how you make others feel about you and how you make them feel about themselves--can make or break your future.

How's your attitude? Do you complain moment something doesn't suit you, or do you take things in stride? Try to see yourself through eyes of others. Do you make others happy or miserable? If you need to, make an attitude adjustment.

9. Tie up loose ends. Not being able to finish a task can be unsettling to those who like to shut doors and end sentences with a period. Most people need some kind of closure on projects, even little ones.

If you're on a treadmill where you're always beginning new tasks before finishing old ones, make a list of what's left hanging. This exercise can make projects seem more manageable. How can you structure your time to tie up those loose ends?

10. Take time to revive. People aren't built like machines. They can't run with their engines revved up continuously. Eventually they wear out. That's why there are coffee and lunch breaks. It's long been recognized that people need to take a little time off every few hours to revive. They return to their tasks with renewed enthusiasm.

If you can, try not to take work home. Every now and then a project may take some extra time, but work shouldn't be devouring your life.