Your Boss Flagged a Poor Performer on Your Team. Now What?

How to verify it fast, without losing trust or acting too hastily.

A manager recently asked me this question:

"My new boss told me one of my employees is a poor performer. They didn't explicitly tell me to fire the person, but they implied I need to manage them out. How should I handle this?"

This comes up constantly. And there are two traps here that can seriously damage your credibility.

The first trap is moving too fast. You take your boss's word for it, assume the person is a poor performer, and start taking action to manage them out. That feels like the safe move. It might not be.

The second trap is moving too slow. You're nervous about destroying morale. You haven't personally seen the person do anything wrong. Meanwhile, your new boss feels like you're avoiding the difficult work. Now you're at risk of being seen as a low performer yourself.

Here's exactly how I would handle this.

Step 1: Go back to your boss and get specific.

I'm starting with a conversation with my boss.

I'll tell them: "I hold a high standard for performance on my team. Tell me more about what you've seen."

I want as much specific information as I can get. Expectations that were missed. Behaviors that need to be corrected. Concrete examples.

Then I let them know: "I understand the concern. I will move quickly and keep you updated as I go."

Keeping your boss informed throughout this process is essential.

Step 2: Meet one-on-one with the employee.

We don't know each other well yet, so I'm going into this meeting the same way I go into every early one-on-one with a new direct report.

I'm creating an environment of trust and safety. I'm not walking in and saying "big boss told me you were missing expectations."

I'm going to ask them the same three questions I ask everyone on the team:

• "Tell me what's been going well."

• "What hasn't been going well, or could have gone better?"

• "What do you think we should be doing differently?"

There's a real chance this person identifies the same issue my boss raised. I may also learn about contributing factors I hadn't considered.

I'm not looking for excuses or finger-pointing. But I am paying close attention to situations that could point to a leadership problem rather than a performance problem.

Were expectations clearly defined? Were the right resources applied? Was there a cross-functional issue that never got resolved?

Ever hear, "No bad teams, only bad leaders?" There's a real possibility this person was never set up for success.

If they don't bring up the specific issue my boss flagged, I'll address it directly: "Tell me about that project. It's my understanding it fell short of expectations. What's your take on that?"

How they answer that question tells me a lot.

Step 3: Talk to the peers and stakeholders who were involved.

I'm going to meet with any peers or cross-functional stakeholders who were involved in the project or initiative that missed expectations.

This is not an investigation of my employee. Meeting peers and key stakeholders is something I do in the early days with any new team regardless. I want to hear what's been working, what hasn't, and what we should do differently.

I'll ask them: "How has your experience been working with my team? What do you wish we were doing differently to better support you?"

Step 4: Decide what you're actually dealing with.

After doing all of this, there are three possible outcomes.

This was a leadership problem. Expectations weren't clearly defined, resources weren't applied, cross-functional alignment never happened. In this case I'm not exiting the person. I'll work with them on the next project and evaluate their performance for myself.

This person underperformed, but deserves a second chance. There's been a leadership change. I'm holding new, high standards. I'm also providing the coaching and support each person on my team needs. If this person takes ownership of what happened and commits to a better path forward, I'm going to give them that opportunity. I'm a firm believer in second chances.

This person underperformed and is not taking ownership. They're making excuses. They're pointing blame at others. This is the opposite of the culture I'm building. I'll coach them directly and empathetically, but I will not tolerate this for long. This is likely someone I'm going to exit from the business.

All of this happens quickly. Days or weeks, not months.

You're being thorough enough to form your own clear picture of the situation. And you're being decisive enough to act with urgency.

One more thing worth saying: how you handle this affects every person on your team, not just the individual in question. Your team is watching. They want to know that you treat people with respect, that you coach and support people who are struggling, and that you hold high standards and won't let poor performance linger.

That's the foundation for sustained peak performance.

Best, 

Jeff

P.S. If you've recently taken on a new team and you're facing difficult decisions like this one, book a complimentary consultation with me. We'll talk through exactly what you're dealing with and I'll get you pointed in the right direction. I'm taking all of these calls myself right now, so grab a time while you can. Schedule your call here.