When an employee’s performance is an issue, managers assume:
- “They” are the problem
- It is an attitudinal issue on the part of the employee
- Reprimanding/reprisal or negative consequences are the best solution
By Hani Kafoury, M.A. Psychology
Effectively managing performance problems always starts with a good DIAGNOSIS!
The root causes of under-performance are:
- Don’t know WHAT to do
- Don’t know HOW to do it
- CAN’T do it
- WON’T do it
Each of these comes with its own set of diagnoses. You can’t apply a remedy until you have analyzed the type and cause of the problem.
Here are the steps you as a manager should take to diagnose and then treat the problem:
- Describe the performance concern (specific behaviour)
- Describe the DESIRED performance (specific behaviour)
- Is it a WHAT, HOW, CAN’T, or WON’T issue?
- Why?
- Apply the CARE principle:
Concrete – be specific
Approach – describe approach
Results – explain impact
Expectations – what you want
Accurately diagnose the performance problem and use the CARE model, and you are guaranteed to have a more engaged, high-performing pharmacy team.
Hani Kafoury, M.A. Psychology, is the founder, senior transition consultant and coach at Tranzition Consulting Services.
