Leave It To The Expert

By David Saxe, BBA, CPA. CA, CBC  – Your Business Performance Specialist

I was recently approached by a client about an employee who was not adhering  to the newly established core values.  They had implemented their five core values that define the organization’s culture a few months earlier, she had given her core value speech at a company-wide meeting of employees and the People Analyzer had been implemented.  This particular employee performed his tasks in an acceptable manner, received pluses or plus/minuses for the other 4 core values, but he just couldn’t get in sync with being “a team player.”  She confirmed that the employee’s expectations were clearly understood.  He just couldn’t or wouldn’t adhere to that one core value.   She wanted to know how she should solve this problem.

COACHED UP OR COACHED OUT:

I explained that the first thing she needed to understand was that this was not her problem.  This was the employee’s problem.  Her responsibility was to identify with the employee where the specific gaps in his attributes and performance were, giving three specific examples of how he was not adhering to the specific core value.  The employee should be asked directly, “do you want to fix this?” If the answer is no, then that employee clearly does not belong in the organization.

If the employee is eager to improve, then he/she should be given a timeline to improve and a second review should take place at the end of that timeline.  If there is still no improvement, one last chance should be given.  Normally, the employee who is unable to address the shortcoming will give their notice.  If they don’t, they need to be terminated because the core values are meant to create a cohesive culture within the organization.  If one or more employee fails to follow those core values, the culture won’t improve and others will follow.

WHERE WE FAIL:

Most managers first try to fix the problem FOR the employee.  It’s time we realize that we can’t teach personality.  It’s the employee’s problem to improve, not that of management.  Once every effort has been made to “coach up” the employee with no improvement, then the employee himself or herself has determined that they do not fit the culture of the organization.  With that conclusion, either they will make the decision to leave, or you must make that decision.  Building cohesive teams and improving the health of your organization depends on it.

David Saxe, BBA, CPA, CA, CBC

Business Performance Specialist

Authorized Partner – The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team™

Certified Ownership Thinking™ Facilitator

Base Camp Trained EOS implementer

David has over 40 years of hands on business and business related work experience and is the Senior Associate of Next Level Business Planning.  The firm provides leadership teams with the tools, training and skills to build high performance, cohesive, productive teams within their businesses organizations.  David has a passion for working with leadership teams to help them create a laser-focused vision and provide the tools, training and traction to achieve that vision.   He also helps to create a culture of engagement and accountability to maximize efficiency and profitability by training employees to think and act like owners.  David can be reached at david@nextlevelbusinessplanning.com.