Submitted by K_Lynn on
in
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Sometime within the next week or two, there is going to be a shake up in my office. There is a co-worker who is woefully underperforming and my department and job role could change dramatically.
On the good side, I'm reallyl happy this problem is being addressed because it has been a distraction and frustration for me in doing my job. I recently worked on a project with this employee and for the two months we were on the project she put up a steady stream of barriers for me. Each time we had a problem I addressed it with her (focusing on behaviors) and at the end of the project I had a final discussion with her to share the pattern of behaviors I saw. Additionally, I had to share it with her boss. This may sound odd, but as frustrating as I find it to work with this person, on the flip side I consider her a great friend.
My big concern is the possibility that she will be assigned to report to me. Right now I have no full-time direct reports. I'm part of a team, and I've done a great job of building relationships in my office. I have a reputlation for working hard, being successful and having a lot of fun in the process. The project where I had so many difficulties with my one coworker is also a project where people from outside of my area and even my department volunteered their Saturday to participate. I've had direct reports before, but in my current position I have been very successful and I'm part of an awesome team that gives me the support I need. I've actually liked not having the to manage anyone.
As a friend of this coworker I know way too much of where her head is, her bad habits and how bad her performance is. I worry that having such a poor performer to manage will suck the life out of me and kill my productivity. I travel a lot for work and this is not the kind of employee I would trust to be back in the office working hard.
So I guess my first question is - should I fight it or start preparing to deal with it.? By the way, this coworker has mentioned to me before that she would love to the opportunity to work with me and report to me (I found this very weird when she said it since technically she is my boss's peer), so I don't think her pending demotion will be that devastating to her. And no, there isn't a chance of her being fired. They are just trying to figure out what to do with her.
I joined the organization two and a half years ago and have had success after success - increasing revenues in every cycle except one. In June I was rewarded and recognized with a promotion to a director level and a nice raise and since then have had several big successes. Plus, I really love what I do and all the people that I work with. This pending re-org is somewhat depressing because getting this person as a direct report doesn't feel like a reward at all - more like a punishment.
Advice?
depends on what you want
In my humble opinion, you need to take a step back, and think about what direction you want your career to take. That will help determine what you do in this situation. IF you want to be a manager, and they have this person report to you, I don't think you can turn it down. If I were promoting one of my staff into a leadership position and they told me they didn't want to lead person X, it would cause me to question whether they are management material. On the other hand, if you know you don't want to be a manager, then that is a whole other conversation and really goes beyond just this one person. (And it is ok to not want to be a manager - there are lots of very successful people who are not.)
Assuming you do want to be a manager, you should listen to the recent podcasts about managing friends. Mark and Mike nailed it on this topic (but then don't they always?) I can't remember but think there might also be a podcast about going from being a peer to being a manager.
Next, dealing with various levels of performance is part of the job - including poor performers. Get up to speed on 1-1s and the feedback model. You'll need it.
And finally, there is a ray of hope if you're willing to tackle it. I believe that everyone is good at something and usually poor performance is a sign of a bad fit, rather than a bad person. One of the things I love about the "power" of being in management is that it lets you help people. Over the years I've voluntarily taken a few "poor performers" into my team and then worked with them to discover what their strengthes are and then to help them move into a more appropriate role. It is extra work but in all cases, except for two, those people went on to become good or even great performers. The two that didn't, in the end, just really didn't care and were terminated.
But you really do need to start with what you want.