Have you ever clung to an old narrative about an employee even if the circumstances have changed? For example, let’s say you reigned in a “renegade” employee six months ago and the person subsequently adapted to more moderate behavior.
In this case, the former scenario no longer exists. But you’ve recently discovered that the employee is actually underperforming because he’s following your previous directives to the letter and is timid about taking advantage of new opportunities.
You don’t want to loosen your grip over him, though, because you still believe the old scenario is valid. From your perspective, “He’ll still be out of control” or “I don’t want the management headache.”
Welcome to management myopia.
The easy thing to do is to do nothing. After all, you already assessed the situation, and the person has abided by the status quo. He’s “under control.”
The harder action is to take a fresh look, evaluate what may have changed, and determine how the person’s skills and talent can now be best utilized.
It’s dangerous to pigeonhole employees based on old stories. Using this example, if the person was really a renegade, he probably would have marched to the beat of his own drum regardless of your warnings or left your company.
By doing nothing, you’re not managing. And, if you do this with one person, think about the opportunity cost with others who may be in similar situations.
The more spirited the employee, the harder the management scenario may be. But the upside is also probably greater. If you’re not willing to do your job and manage, maybe you’re in the wrong job.
Take a step back, reassess, and offer a fresh start to give those employees the benefit of the doubt.
“By all these lovely tokens September days are here
With summer’s best of weather
And autumn’s best of cheer.”
– Helen Hunt Jackson
Header image by Tima Miroshnichenko/Pexels.
