How to coach an underperformer to success

Despite clear evidence that many underperformers can be coached to success, few managers and companies know how to do so

- DAVID DODSON

I ONCE had a member of my team who was struggling with his harsh treatment of people — behaviour that was inconsistent with our culture.

I could have written him off as a poor cultural fit and let him go; but I knew if I could fix the issues, it would be better for the company.

He was a good performer in other respects and the position would’ve been costly to fill. But I needed a framework for determining whether his issues were coachable — and if so, how to maximise the chances of success.

Corporate will

Despite clear evidence that many underperformers can be coached to success, few managers and companies know how to do so. An incredible 40% of companies report that they would not rehire most or all of their workers, and yet at the same time they are unwilling to address the areas of underperformance.

Because coaching underperformance is seldom urgent, we often postpone the unpleasant confrontation. This generally makes the situation more extreme and harder to address. To protect against this, evaluate your team twice a year using the following four surefire steps:

Four-step evaluation