FAQ · EMERGING LEADER
The underperforming team member is the test most new leaders put off, and it’s the one that does the most damage when delayed. Everyone on the team knows who it is. They’re watching to see whether you’ll do something about it — and the longer you wait, the more two things erode: the team’s faith in you, and the struggling person’s chance to turn it around.
Address it promptly and privately
The moment you notice a performance issue, have a private conversation. Not public, not passive-aggressive, not in the team meeting. One-on-one, soon, and directly.
Delay is the enemy. A small problem caught early is a conversation. The same problem six months later is a crisis — and by then the person is often unrecoverable, because nobody told them anything was wrong.
State the facts and clarify the standard
Start with observable facts and the specific behavior you’ve seen — not your frustration, not a character judgment. Then be crystal clear about the standard: what “good” looks like, and where they’re falling short of it. Vague feedback produces vague results. The person needs to know, precisely, what needs to change.
Build a plan together, with support
This is where underperformance management either works or fails. After you’ve laid out the facts and the standard, ask them what’s getting in the way — and actually listen. Then build a clear action plan together: specific goals, specific deadlines, and the resources, training, or support they need to get there.
Your job isn’t to punish; it’s to give them a genuine shot. Sometimes people rise to it. Sometimes the honest answer is that they’re in the wrong role — and that’s worth knowing too.
Follow through — including the hard part
Set the plan, then hold the line. Check in on the deadlines. If improvement happens, say so. If it doesn’t, follow through with the formal performance process — calmly, consistently, and without making it personal.
This is the part that protects the rest of the team. When you hold everyone to the same standard, you signal that the standard matters. When you let one person slide, you signal that it doesn’t — and your best people are the first to notice and the first to quietly check out.
Your one move this week
Write down the specific behavior you’ve observed, the standard it falls short of, and the outcome you need to see. Then book the conversation. Not next month — this week. The thinking you do before you walk in is the difference between a fair conversation and an awkward one.
The follow-through timeline
The plan only matters if you hold it. Here’s the cadence: day one, the private conversation — facts, standard, plan. Then a check-in every week or two against the specific goals you agreed, not a vague “how’s it going.” At the agreed endpoint, make the call: improved, improving, or not. If not, move to the formal process calmly and without drama. The point isn’t to catch them out; it’s to be so clear and consistent that the outcome — either way — never feels personal or surprising. Fairness is what protects the rest of the team, and fairness is just clarity, applied on a schedule.
Holding the line fairly is the “one standard” at the heart of leadership as a trade — and the feedback skills live in the 60-second loop. If this is the conversation you keep avoiding, executive coaching is exactly the place to work it.