If your underperformance is representative of a bigger problem, you need to address it. Does this make sense to you? How else would you handle this?” He suggests saying something like, “Here’s what occurs to me to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Asking for assistance is “flattering to your boss,” but you shouldn’t be obsequious, adds Grote.
“Asking your boss for advice shows that you respect your boss’s intellect and that you trust your boss,” he says.
#HOPEFULLY MEANING HOW TO#
For this reason, he advises that you “ought not give too much thought about how to put a happy sheen on things.” The bottom line: “Don’t try to circumnavigate the problem.”Īs you offer ideas and suggestions on how to improve the situation, it’s worthwhile to ask your manager for guidance, according to Manzoni. And yet, “there are some conversations that won’t have a positive outcome,” says Grote. In difficult discussions like these, it’s natural to want to end on an optimistic note. It’s natural to get defensive in these situations but do your best to avoid listing excuses. “Focus on correction, not blaming, shaming, or fault finding,” he says. Finally, segue into how you can make it right. “Start the conversation by saying, ‘I have some bad news for you.’” Doing so “rivets the person’s attention” and ensures “no mixed messages.” Second, “appropriately express contrition and remorse.” A sincere “I’m sorry” goes a long way. When the time comes to talk to your boss, be straightforward and direct, says Grote. It was a reasonable bet, but it didn’t work out.” Or maybe you’re dealing with an outside distraction - an ailing parent, for instance - that’s the reason you’re “not at your best.” A “reasonable boss will be able to understand that,” he says. It could be, for instance, that you “took a risk” that didn’t pan out as you’d hoped. “You don’t want to go in naïvely thinking ‘I hope my boss is in a good mood today.’” Think especially about how you will explain what happened, says Manzoni. Ask yourself, how will my boss react to this news? “If you have a boss who has a propensity to blow up, you need to prepare for that,” he says. Next, says Grote, you need to think about your underperformance from your boss’s perspective. It could also mean that “you’re not in the right job.” (More on this below.)
This bad stretch might mean that “you are really struggling” and perhaps in “need of more development,” he says. If both point to underperformance, Grote recommends a period of “soul-searching.” You need to figure out if this “is a one-off situation or more of a trend.” If the missed goals are an anomaly or due to extenuating circumstances that’s one thing, but if they’re indicative of a pattern, they ought to “ trigger some career thinking,” he says. For starters, says Manzoni, you need to consider “whether you really are underperforming.” Often our efforts don’t “immediately translate into desired organizational outcomes.” In other words, “you could be doing all the right things but, unfortunately, it’s taking a long time for it to lead to positive results.” Look at what both the “leading and lagging indicators” tell you. The first step in owning up to your underperformance is determining the source of the problem. First, “come clean” about your underperformance “before your boss has had a chance to discover it another way,” and second, focus on “solutions, not excuses.” Here are some ways to think about - and prepare for - the discussion.
#HOPEFULLY MEANING PROFESSIONAL#
Dick Grote, a management consultant and author of How to Be Good at Performance Appraisals, says you must do two things to preserve your professional standing. It can be a tricky conversation, however. “You don’t want your boss annoyed at you and wondering” about what’s going on, he says. But you shouldn’t shy away from the topic, according to Jean-François Manzoni, president of IMD and the author of The Set-Up to Fail Syndrome. When you’re having a bad time at work - your big project isn’t coming together as planned or you’re missing your sales targets by a wide margin - talking to your manager may be the last thing you want to do. How should you position the news? How can you maintain your reputation while being honest? And what sort of explanation - if any - should you give? You need to have a conversation with your manager sooner rather than later. But don’t just sit back and wait for that painful performance review. After all, everyone has an off quarter - or even an off year - from time to time.
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