Moving from accusation to helpfulness
When a direct report makes the same mistake over and over, how can we productively guide them to improved behavior?
👋 Howdy! Claire here, CEO of Canopy. I typically write original long-form posts here on leadership… However, sometimes it’s useful to have something easy and light to skim, rather than more dense and in-depth. And so, I’ve got a quick tip for you below – hope you enjoy! 💚
It's easy to accuse. When we have a direct report who isn’t producing their best work, we can tend to focus on pointing out their error, over and over.
However, in most cases, just telling them what they did wrong isn’t enough to see actual change in their behavior.
Instead, we need to focus on having a discussion with them about what is limiting their progress or outcomes. After all, a person will only improve their performance if they’re willing to decide to change and improve for themselves.
To help them make this decision to improve, try asking:
How have you been feeling about your own performance lately? Where do you see opportunities to improve, if any?
What are you most enjoying about the work you’re doing? What part of the work is inspiring, motivating, and energizing, if any?
What part of the work do you feel stuck? What have you been trying the “crack the nut” on, but it feels like you’re banging your head?
You’ll notice that none of these questions ask, “What do you think you’re doing wrong?”
The point of this conversation is not to assign blame, but instead to reach a place of better understanding.
Then, as a leader, you can move from accusation to helpfulness.
Listen to the free audio version of this tip in Canopy here:
💚 If you’ve been enjoying reading my original writing here, I wanted to share two other ways to gain even deeper leadership insights…
(1) Receive free daily leadership tips when you sign-up for Canopy (and receive them on your phone if you download our free iOS app along with it). Learn more about Canopy here 🌿
(2) Work with me personally and our team to implement a custom leadership training program for your internally-promoted managers, based on our past decade of research. Learn more about Canopy for Teams here 🏔️