Word of The Year – 2024

Some leaders may think of addressing poor performance as the “Big Bad Wolf” of leadership jobs and they fear having to do it. Instead, they circumvent it or cross their fingers hoping the situation never arises. When it does, they run in the other direction.   Not only is this bad leadership but it’s also bad for the success of the company, for company morale and for the unity and strength of teams. Honestly, it’s bad for everyone!   A good leader must address poor performance head-on, welcoming the conflict and expecting a positive result for both the employee and the company, turning that “Big Bad Wolf” into a cuddly husky instead.   Jon Greenwood, former executive at Huntington National Bank, talks of handling poor performance like he talks of lunch—as a daily fact of life. After managing 6500 staff members across 11 states, he came to handle underperformances amongst his teams quickly and easily with a few rules of thumb that he developed along the way.   His motto, “Fail Fast, Fail Forward, and Let’s Go,” gave space for all those he worked with to fail and learn. He recalls his own failures in his early years working as a sales representative. He says he spent time in his car after work each day identifying all the silly questions he asked customers during his cold calls. He committed to doing it better the next day.   His empathy for his employees mixed with his experience and leadership skills, led him to develop key ways to address underperformance on his teams.   Tips on leading through underperformance:   Make Metrics Visible: Jon made a habit of sending a metrics report to all his direct reports every week. This ensured that each employee knew when the numbers were being hit and when they weren’t. No employee would be surprised by a conversation about missing goals if they were seeing it each week. In any industry, make performance visible in such a way that creates openness about it without creating shame or guilt. Make it a fact of the job and a way that employees can encourage one another, know where they stand, and keep working hard to succeed.   Engage Quickly: Jon says, “hard conversations don’t get easier over time.” If someone is underperforming and the numbers are visible, then that person is most likely aware of it. The sooner a conversation is had, the better. This will help the employee get on the right track quicker and/or it will reveal problems or issues sooner so they can be resolved, wasting less time and possibly averting a larger issue. This is also good for group morale as all group members will trust that their leadership is addressing issues ensuring the success of the entire team.   A Skill Problem or A Will Problem?: It’s important to determine if an employee is underperforming due to a lack of training or a lack of work ethic. If it’s a lack of skill, then that’s an easier fix. You can come alongside that employee, coaching them in their work and modeling the level of work that you are expecting. If it’s a will problem, that’s a different conversation. Though the skill might be there, if the work isn’t being done up to standards, there needs to be additional motivation, benchmarks or clear consequences if things don’t change.   Start a Performance Improvement Plan: A performance improvement plan is not a slap on the wrist. It’s a helpful tool to create clear communication around what is required of an employee for him or her to be successful at the job. Jon made a habit of giving employees two weeks instead of 30 days to hit the goals outlined in the plan. He noted that if each check-in is pushed out 30 days, it may be half a year before a necessary change is made, wasting valuable time for both the employee and the company.   Make changes: Be quick to make changes. Jon notes that once you know an employee is not a good fit—not enjoying the job or not willing to do what needs to be done to meet expectations—it’s best to make changes quickly. He says no one wakes up in the morning and decides to stink at their job. Most people want to succeed. If they’re in the wrong seat, then they should be moved quickly to the right one. If they’re not a good fit for the company, then let them go so they and you can both find better fits. With that in mind, Jon also recommends continually recruiting new talent and having a group of possible new hires in the wings. That way, if you must let someone go, you can bring someone new in as quickly as possible.   It's helpful to remember the times that we as leaders also fail. Sometimes we work at a level that’s below expectations and sometimes we need to be made aware of the areas where we could improve. Remembering this creates empathy and love for one another as we work together towards success. ### This blog is based on IOL Podcast #162: Manage Conflict & Performance Improvement Plans with Jon Greenwood. Check it out!   Author: Ashley Buenger

On staying connected to your employees   There’s a scene in the hit sitcom, “The Office,” in which Charles Miner, one of the vice presidents of the company, pays a visit to the Scranton branch. He walks in and immediately goes into the empty conference room. He closes the door, pulls out his computer and spreads out his work. He proceeds to stay in there all day, typing away, calling in employees as needed and answering their inquiries with impatience and irritation. He even spends some of his time spying on the progress of their work from behind the conference room blinds.   This is a great, albeit slightly dramatized, example of the “Ivory Tower” mentality.   The “Ivory Tower” mentality is the idea that those who are in power should remain separate from everyone else. It’s also the idea that their work is the most important. They are unapproachable and anyone in a position beneath that person should be cautious whenever they are around. The “Ivory Tower” bosses judge from afar, raining down their decisions and directives from a place of lofty superiority.   It’s the opposite of the mentality that Jon Greenwood, former executive at Huntington National Bank had when he was a vice president who oversaw 6500 staff members throughout 11 states. He remembers his time in the field, visiting each retail location, with fondness. It was his goal to make each employee feel appreciated and heard. That meant he never locked himself in an empty conference room to do his “more important work” while he was there. Instead, he spent the time that he had—working hours, lunches and even dinners—with his employees, building relationships that were the foundation of the company’s success. This is how he created a positive culture over time.   On IOL Podcast #161: “The Five-Driver Model,” he highlights three ways that he made sure that he did not have an “Ivory Tower” mentality. Here’s how he stayed connected with his employees:   By maintaining a high “say-do ratio”: One of the most important foundations in building a positive culture over time is building people’s trust. Greenwood says that he uses the “say-do ratio” model. Lots of people say they will do things and don’t do them. He made sure the rate at which he said he would do things matched the rate at which he actually did them. This created trust between him and his employees. So much so that when hard decisions had to be made, no matter the outcome, his employees still trusted that he had their best interest in mind.   Prioritize the employees on the front lines: Greenwood says that the front-line workers have the most important job because they are face-to-face with customers. Their work not only directly impacts revenue, but they also tend to have a pulse on what’s going well with the company and what isn’t. It’s important to make sure that these employees know the value of their work. Greenwood says he made a point of walking up to the tellers first, as soon as he entered any retail location that he was visiting. The worst thing to do is to fall into a hierarchy system in which the manager is the only one who gets face time with the VP and the front-line employees get none. That leaves them feeling insignificant and negatively impacts performance. No one is left out, not middle management, not high-level management, but the front-line employees need that special attention.   Ask and listen: Greenwood spent most of his time in the field conducting “round table” meetings in which he would gather employees and talk with them for an hour or more about what was going well and what wasn’t. In this space, he would glean valuable information on how to make necessary changes and improvements. He was also able to “workshop” some of his ideas before they were implemented. The round table discussions gave employees a space to share what mattered to them, continuing to build that necessary trust and creating a positive working environment.   At face value, these points may seem highly doable, and they are, but over time, workload, changes in leadership, or even external stress from the markets can easily cause a leader to put his or her head down and just work hard, forgetting that engagement with employees, rubbing shoulders with them and just spending time together makes a huge difference. Job titles aside, we are all human beings looking to create connections with one another. Let us not forget that everything grows out of that fact.   ###   This post is based on IOL Podcast #161: “The Five-Driver Model” with Jon Greenwood. Check it out!   Author: Ashley Buenger