This is three-part series by guest blogger William Dann. Read Part 1: 3 Types of Supervisory Problems: “Can’t Do” Problems and Part 2: 3 Types of Supervisory Problems: “Confidence” Problems.
As we discussed in the previous posts, Ken Blanchard has said that there are two categories of problems in supervision, a “Can’t Do” and a “Won’t Do” problem, and I add a third category “Confidence” problems. In Part 1, we discussed “Can’t Do” problems, and in Part 2, we discussed “Confidence” problems. Today, we’ll wrap up this three-part blog series with “Won’t Do” problems.
“Won’t Do” problems arise because employees either consciously or subconsciously choose to not perform as directed, and poor performance, essentially, becomes an employee’s choice on some level.
The challenge for you, as a manager, is that employees often mask their disobedience. They appear to always be busy, engaged, committed and hard-working, but they don’t produce the results that you want. When pressed to explain their low performance, they state that they didn’t understand the assignment or were confused by your directions. Because they don’t take accountability for their own shortcomings and consistently blame others, they don’t improve. When you talk them, they skirt around the issue or talk in generalities, so it is nearly impossible for you to gain the information you need to define a problem and then solve it.
Won’t Do problems arise for a number of reasons, including:
- The employee has lost motivation (or never had it).
- The employee is seeking revenge or wants to even the score for some perceived injustice (e.g. passed over for promotion).
- The employee no longer supports the mission of the organization.
- The employee is experiencing a personal problem (e.g. divorce, addiction).
Ultimately, the employee needs to take ownership of the problem and make the necessary changes to turn around his or her performance. The circumstances may be understandable, even tragic, but that should not motivate you to take responsibility for such problems because, quite frankly, you are powerless to solve them.
However, you can take steps to help employees deal with their problems. For example, you could approve time off for an employee dealing with a drug addiction. Or you can assign a demotivated employee a special assignment to re-engage him or her. Still, while the employee may have a legitimate reason for the performance slip, you need to put the welfare of the team and organization first. You must expect, demand even, that the employee take the necessary actions to bring his or her performance up to an acceptable level.
Ken Blanchard based his original research that formed the Situational Leadership® model on parenting, likening growing employees to growing children. The challenge in both situations is gaining clarity as to whether a problem is due to deficient parenting or the willful choice of the child. Loving the child makes it difficult to harshly judge and punish a child. The same is true for the supervisor concerned about and committed to his employees. However, just as lack of discipline that is truly warranted is detrimental to children, refusing to address employees’ performance and behavioral problems, is detrimental to them and to the whole organization.
Furthermore, not disciplining employees with “Won’t Do” problems erodes your standing as the leader. It represents a failure to provide order, safety and fairness. An employee not meeting standards means that other employees must endure some measure of chaos and must pick up the slack for which they are usually not recognized or rewarded. That kills the moral and productivity of the whole team.
William Dann spent 13 years as a CEO before launching his consulting business, Professional Growth Systems, LLC, in 1981 – an organization that has served over 200 organizations in the US and abroad, using proprietary solutions to accelerate performance with as little time and resources as possible. Additionally, Dann has taught for several years at the graduate level at Boston University and is also the founder of BoardGrowth.com, a website devoted to advancing the effectiveness of governing boards. Dann currently resides in Anchorage, Alaska with his family.
Creating High Performers is available in paperback on Amazon.com.
Learn more at www.professionalgrowthsystems.com.
Photo Credit: www.freeimages.com/profile/shrubby
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