Tweet

Who’s really to blame when your employees fail to perform?

Written by: Cassandra L. Gierden

Article Overview: Human beings are funny. When placed in a position where they are expected to perform in a certain way – like an office – most people will do exactly what is expected and not much more. If expectations are low, they tend to do less. But when expectations are high, those same people will to rise to the occasion. Applied to today’s managers, we see this effect play out time and again in organizations large and small: A manager who expects little of his or her employees also clearly thinks little of them. As a result, employees give little in return. On the other hand, managers who expect a lot of their employees tend to treat their employees better and, in return, get better performance.

Who’s really to blame when your employees fail to perform?

Who’s really to blame when your employees fail to perform?

In writing for a column I seem to have developed a theme about. I will continue with that theme again this time by talking about how managers can improve employee morale and performance, not by changing the behaviour of their employees but by changing their own behaviour and attitude.

The danger of low expectations

Human beings are funny. When placed in a position where they are expected to perform in a certain way – like an office – most people will do exactly what is expected and not much more. If expectations are low, they tend to do less. But when expectations are high, those same people will to rise to the occasion.

It is a strange pattern of behaviour. Perhaps there is a deep-seated psychological reason for it; maybe some throwback to our cave dwelling days when life was hard and doing more than we needed to seemed, well, stupid. Whatever the causes, studies have proven that people will perform to expectations - and not beyond - most of the time.

A few years back the Harvard Business Review republished an article that was originally written in 1969 by J. Sterling Livingston. Called “Pygmalion in Management”, the article describes how a manager’s expectations influence employees. The article is named after George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, the play that examined the idea that the way we treat others can have a dramatic effect on them.

Applied to today’s managers, we see this effect play out time and again in organizations large and small: A manager who expects little of his or her employees also clearly thinks little of them. As a result, employees give little in return. On the other hand, managers who expect a lot of their employees tend to treat their employees better and, in return, get better performance.

So, as a manager, how can you learn to see your employees differently? How can you shift your expectations and effectively communicate to your employees that you believe they are capable of great things? Read on.

Setting the bar higher

Isn’t it amazing to think that you can motivate your employees to do more simply by expecting more of them to begin with? And what a great business strategy that is – tell them they’re capable of flying to the moon and they’ll launch your business to new heights; tell them they couldn’t find their way out of a wet paper bag they’ll get mired in a soggy mess and be content to stay there. See the examples below for proof - forgive the exaggeration in service of some of these points.

Let’s look at how you might react when an employee is late with a project, doesn’t complete it fully, or gets it pretty much all wrong. Do you:

a. berate the employee and criticize him loudly and harshly using words like “incompetent”, “idiot” or worse?
b. take the person aside for a quiet discussion where you tell her that you are very disappointed and then go on about how this failure will affect you and the impression that higher-ups have of you?
c. immediately remove the person from the project he is currently working on and tell him he is being assigned something “easier”?
d. offer constructive criticism but initiate a discussion with the employee about your own role in the failure, realizing that perhaps you weren’t clear about what was needed or didn’t provide adequate resources to get the job done right?

Hmm. Not hard to see which employee will perform better next time. Clearly the “d” manager has read Livingston’s article and understands that fair treatment begets better performance.

Here’s another exercise you can try. Jane has been doing the tradeshow circuit, trying to sell your company and its products. In a performance review she tells you that the travel is wearing her out and what she really wants to do is write the marketing materials that the sales team uses. You:

a. blow her off completely and tell her to pack her bags for her next trip
b. get annoyed that she blindsided you with her career aspirations and, as “punishment”, send her on a business trip to Winnipeg in the dead of winter
c. tell her there is no way she has the experience and skill needed to write marketing materials
d. offer her a chance to write some samples while staying in her current position and help her plan a career track that will let her move into a writing position if she decides that is what she really wants

Again, Manager D has it right. By subtly letting Jane know that she is capable of other things, this manager instills her with confidence and motivates her to perform at a higher level.

Are you seeing a pattern here? These examples demonstrate exactly what you need to do to be the boss that everyone raves about:

• Own up to your faults and shoulder your share of the responsibility when one of your employees performs poorly.
• Give fair feedback in a positive manner. Consider a coaching session on giving feedback to help you master this tricky skill.
• Listen. Listen. Listen.
• Respect your employees.
• Offer your support when an employee does open up to you.
• Always send signals – both direct and indirect – that tell employees you believe in them.

OK. This all sounds fabulous, but how do you do it? After years of having it ingrained in you that you are the boss, the dominant one, the decision maker – how do you change into a kinder, gentler manager who has to (gulp) admit to your mistakes?

The view from the bottom

I once read an article that talked about how turning the org chart around can help managers get a new perspective. Instead of a view from the top, you should put yourself at the bottom of the chart so you can look up to your employees.

This new view will help you understand that you are there to help and guide your employees, not dictate to them or micromanage them. Your attitude will change and so will that of your employees, who will move from expecting little of themselves to performing beyond everyone’s wildest dreams.

Related Articles
  Take the Hit
  What have I learned in 6 months of management? Part 2
  Beating the Blame Game
  Are You Too Good for Your Job?
  Do You Still Think Like An Employee

Article Tags: attitude, bernard shaw, cave dwelling, dramatic effect, employee morale, george bernard shaw, harvard business review, human beings, influence employees, low expectations, psychological reason, sterling, strange pattern, throwback



Related Forum Posts
Re: Should you hire ambitious workers or employees with no goals - [quote="BuzzAroundBooks":2ijq3b5e]As a small business owner, should you hire ambitious workers or employees with no goals? My friend's father is a relatively successful entrepreneur and it's his belief that you should primarily hire employees with no ambition because you can get away with paying them less and they're less likely to leave (thus saving you money from a high turnover rate). "Grunts" are the way to go, even though ambitious workers are typically smarter. What do you think?[/quote:2ijq3b5e] I say YES to hirin employees with no Goals!!! they make great "front-line" employees as long as you have carefully documented your process for them to follow. They typically are open to perform routine administrative tasks and they work for a much lower wage. I know what I've said is pretty gloomy but it's reality from my experience. Occasionally one of the "employees with no goals" will stand up and say, "I love working here". You pluck these individuals and promote them to tasks which require more decisions.
Re: Searching for options for good investments!!! - If you are reaching retirement age you need to be more cautious with investments. The older you get the less time you have available to recoup money from risky investments that fail to perform. Definitely get advice from a good financial adviser before making any kind of investments. MichelleJ
Re: Politeness! - Hi, It is a sad thing to see people ignoring basic words like thank you, but for the kids I would not blame them. I would blame their parents. When we were young, my mother used to tell us that she will teach us only three statements and these three statements will take us places. These three statements are: Thank you, Please and I am Sorry.
Women care about employees - I think women entrepreneurs care more about their employees than men so it makes sense that they would consider how the new owner would impact the employees.
Re: Politeness! - [quote="ndasika":352b07zu]Hi, It is a sad thing to see people ignoring basic words like thank you, but for the kids I would not blame them. I would blame their parents. When we were young, my mother used to tell us that she will teach us only three statements and these three statements will take us places. These three statements are: Thank you, Please and I am Sorry.[/quote:352b07zu] I commend your mother. I wish all parents taught their kids these statements as well as how to be respectful to others. Whether the scouts received less money than they wanted or not, they should be thankful to receive anything at all. It's the fault of the parents for not instilling good values in them.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

What is Give Back Marketing?

Making the Most of Your Trade Show Experience

Soda Vending Machine = Energy Hog

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.