Don't Compare Your Employees to You

"My employees don't work as fast as I do." "My employees aren't as interested in their jobs as I am." "My employees just don't have the same eye for quality as I do." "My employees don't have my strong work ethic." "I don't delegate because I can do the work faster and better than my employees." "I don't have confidence in my employees because they don't work like I do." "I don't trust my employees to do the job the same way I would." "I won't be happy until my employees give it 110% like I do." "I can't understand why my employees don't have the same enthusiasm for the work as I do." "I know how to get the fastest performance, the best quality, and on-time delivery; that's what I expect my employees to do."

I frequently hear these and other similar comments from supervisors talking about trusting employees. Or delegation. Or motivation. Or attitudes. Or performance appraisals. Or you-name-it. And frankly its the wrong perspective and point-of-view.

Outstanding workers are often promoted into first-line supervisory management positions because they do a very good job. But not every employee is as capable, and qualified, and interested in doing the work of the department as the supervisor was and is. Yes, it would be great if everyone could do the job to the standards of performance modeled by the supervisor. But that is simply not realistic. When it comes to evaluating individual employees, how they compare to their supervisor's abilities and performance is not a meaningful measure.

The performance requirement for each employee must take into account their knowledge, skills, capabilities and training. Is each employee working to her or his full potential? If they are, and performance is average or greater, that's good. Does the employee have untapped potential? That's good too if we can motivate and coach them to use those additional talents. Is the employee's full potential below average, but within acceptable parameters? Then we'll probably keep them. Is the employee's full potential below average and not within acceptable parameters? Then we'll probably need to transfer them to a different job or let them go.

What if the employee is operating below full potential? The question becomes "Can we motivate and coach them to change?" If so, that's good. If we can't coach them to a higher level of performance but their present (below full potential) performance is average or above average, then sadly we will probably have to accept that. But they will have to accept the corresponding lower evaluations and pay adjustments, lower than they could receive if they worked to their full potential. If the employee is operating below full potential to an unacceptable degree and doesn't want to change, then we'll probably need to let them go.

About Pelleyblog. This blog covers topics of interest to managers, particularly those at the first-line supervisor level. Occasionally we include topics of general interest, topics about Dan Pelley's background and experiences, and a rare occasional rant. We welcome your comments on this or any other post.

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