Three Ways Leaders Can Improve Productivity by Setting Clearer Expectations
When an employee underperforms, leaders must address the issue early to prevent further decline in productivity and morale. This isn’t about team members facing personal challenges or unmanageable workloads; it’s about employees who fail to meet responsibilities due to lack of effort, unclear expectations, or skill gaps. Tackling these challenges with clarity, guidance, and accountability can often turn things around, benefiting both the individual and the team.
The first act toward addressing underperformance is setting clear expectations. It's impossible to meet standards that people don't even know exist. Brené Brown, a renowned leadership expert, reminds us: "Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind." Many leaders mistakenly believe expectations are self-evident or are based on so-called "common sense," resulting in misalignment. Leaders should make it unmistakably clear what success looks like. As an instance, clarify outcomes, deadlines, and priorities for any work. For example, if an individual is assigned to write a report, conclude whether the report should be detailed or summary-based. Resulting confusion may lead to frustration, incompetence, and unsatisfactory outputs. Leaders should also make sure that expectations are clear, rather than assuming that they are. Asking reflective questions such as "How do you intend to do this?" or "What are you thinking is most important?" of employees will bring up any confusion quickly and keep things in line from the very beginning.
In the event of a performance problem, prompt action is crucial. Action taken too late may even compound the problem and be much more difficult to resolve. As soon as the leaders sense a performance drop, they should start coaching conversations. Such discussions should be done with curiosity and empathy, understanding the root cause of the problem. Open-ended questions like, "What challenges are you facing?" or "How do you feel the project is progressing?" can unveil problems such as unclear priorities, skill gaps, or personal struggles.
For the conversations, specific and constructive feedback is necessary. Instead of statements such as "You must communicate better," focus on specific, observable behaviors or expectations: "I have observed that project updates are being done late, causing the team not to plan on time. For the future, I require that you send updates at the end of each day." This kind of clarity will show exactly what needs improvement and why it matters.
Once expectations are reset, follow-up becomes crucial. Good leadership is not micromanaging; however, it is providing support and directions at various stages of work. Regular check-ins show that the employers value their employee's progress and aid when required to do so. This boosts confidence and motivates people to stay on track.
Accountability is the last step when dealing with low performance. When expectations are set, and guidelines provided, it remains the employee's responsibility to take improvement measures. Clearly, leaders have to communicate with the employee about further underperformance with consequences such as formal warnings and missed advancement opportunities. This transparency allows them to understand that they have every chance to right their wrongs before things get serious.
If, after open communication and support, there is no sign of improvement, leaders should implement the consequences set in motion. This will solidify responsibility within the group and inform individuals that contributions are valued. Accountability reinforces not only individual performance but also the functionality of the group as a whole.
Underperforming employees should be supported with clarity, timely intervention, and consistent follow-through. Only through clearly set expectations, early conversation of issues, and holding employees accountable empathetically and transparently will leaders be able to create an environment where employees succeed. But, of course, the employee has the final decision over getting better, so the leadership can act boldly with the feeling that their part in fostering growth and productivity has been played.
