“I knew the employee wasn’t going to work out.”
I have lost count of how many times I have heard managers and supervisors say this to me.
When they do I respond with –
“Really? When do you know that and how did you treat them afterward?”
?Stop and think for a moment.
You “knowing” an employee was not going to work out and not doing anything about it is not something to be proud of.
In fact, until you do everything in your power as a leader to help your people succeed, you cannot not know their future.
Because the moment you decide they will not work out, you stop leading. You stop providing valuable feedback. And you stop doing all you can to help them succeed.
?”Knowing” someone is not going to work out, managers stop engaging with them and give them less because they expect less from them.
In effect, this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, cutting the struggling employee off from resources that may help them succeed.
Cutting people off from potential success is not leading.
?As a leader, you go all-in on your people like it is your job. Because it is.
And let the process of you committing to your people be what helps them show up as someone who will or will not work out.