I recently finished a classic in management satire: The Peter Principle by Laurence J. Peter. Having worked in several sizes of organizations, and with the book being somewhat dated (first published in 1969), I was pleasantly surprised by how well it holds up. It’s delightful.
The premise of the book is something all of us in the workforce can relate to: the concept that people are “promoted to their level of incompetence.” Someone does well in their role, so they get a promotion. They do well again and get promoted. All of a sudden, they are in a role they can’t perform well. Instead of rising to the occasion, they turn their gaze downward to the roles they knew well and begin to micromanage and scrutinize the poor souls who fill their past positions.
It is hilarious and maddeningly relatable. I would recommend the read.
If you’re a manager with people on your team who have been promoted to a level of incompetence, what do you do to repair the situation? It’s time for Dan’s “Three Ds” of performance improvement: Describe, Document, and Diligence.
Describe
Describe the goals and expectations. Your team can’t read your mind, so put it in writing. Make a guide. Make it explicit. Show and tell what “good” looks like. Make the goal so obvious that your team can self-measure how they fare against the expectation. This is where we always start: describing expectations.
One thing I always check for with a new team is a clear “roles and responsibilities” document that outlines everyone’s roles and what they are accountable for. I’ve had success leading working meetings to create “roles and responsibility contracts” within a team. Doing this as a group allows folks to recognize what others are responsible for. This sounds obvious, but you would be shocked at how many people stay within their own personal bubbles and have no clue what their teammates are up to.
It happens, and the solution is simple: transparency and clear, public descriptions. That’s right—save your final document in a place where everyone has access. Post it on the wall if you have to. Just make sure everyone agrees to it and has a copy. This is easier said than done, but it is critical for group cohesion.
Also, for the low performer, this provides a very clear signal regarding expectations. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, they may not know what their expectations are. Now that you’ve carefully outlined them, they may eagerly rise to the bar—and maybe even exceed it!
Document
Document as much as you can. Email is a legal document. Your company IM is likely a legal document, too. Your texts, notebooks, and lab books can all be considered legal documents.
How you use these tools depends on your situation. My recommendation is to have regular meetings with your questionable performer and document every outcome, even when the meetings are mundane. Save all these emails in a folder. People who genuinely need help will appreciate you sending notes on what was discussed. Clear action plans and to-do lists will allow them to execute, get their jobs done, and start performing at expectation.
However, people who are taking advantage of the job or are misguided in their self-evaluation (thinking they are hot shit when they ain’t) will probably get defensive. These situations can put you into hot water quickly. Defensive people who know how to use the “system” are great at making anyone but themselves seem like the problem. If you are a middle manager with a top-level management team that tends to be reactive or optics-focused, you’re going to need a paper trail. You’re going to need receipts.
So, make them.
- Host a check-up meeting? Send out an email summary after.
- Provide feedback on a work sample? Send an email summary with that feedback.
- Have a weird conversation in the hallway? You guessed it! Send a follow-up email summarizing what was said.
This sounds like a lot, and it is. You will have great employees who want to become better and will need this level of attention and coaching in order to thrive. You will also have people who want to “ride the system” and need this level of accountability to improve. Finally, you will have employees who would be better served somewhere else; your documentation will be needed to justify to management that you have done your best to help, but they still aren’t a good fit.
Documentation can come off the wrong way to employees, so be kind. Keep a neutral tone. Consistency is the important part. I try to give all my employees notes after all 1:1s; then, the next time we meet, I pull up the notes from last time and go over them. This helps with psychological safety. I won’t ask about a task I didn’t assign, and their assigned tasks are in writing. That’s our contract.
Diligence
A system is only as good as the people who maintain it. Ain’t nothing to it but to do it. You must have diligence and consistency in your efforts to describe and document. The more consistently you document and the clearer you are with expectations, the easier it is to encourage high performance.
CrossFit teaches coaches to be relentless when it comes to technique. The concept is that you won’t let anything substandard fly. As a coach, we are taught to spot flaws—big and small—and work all athletes toward perfection. The same must be done in business.
We are all capable of greatness. If you continue to show up for your team, describe the goal state, and support them, they will improve. Take this coaching principle to work with you: be relentless (in a kind and thoughtful way). Your culture is only as good as the worst behaviors and habits you allow.
Stay diligent. Trust the processes.
— Dan
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You can learn more about the work I do at http://www.kestryledge.com