A junior on my team really doesn’t get it, and I’m about to have to give them a reality check. How do you politely say “you’re only about 5% as good as you think you are?”

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“You’re doing a wonderful job, as you know. I just need you to work on these 43 areas.”

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Ah the old P&G agency feedback trick

likefunny

I feel you OP, I recently had to manage a junior/intern who thought he was God’s gift but simply did not produce the goods on paper, would not take suggestions or follow direct instructions, and spent most of his time propagandizing how great he was at the things he wasn’t doing. A real gasbag. Some people you can reach and some you can’t. You gotta be friendly and supportive but also let them know exactly what time it is. Sometimes you gotta be stern dad/mom. My greatest achievement in advertising was a come to Jesus talk I had with an underperforming VCU grad where I suggested he really think about whether he even wanted to be in the industry, and not long after, he dropped out, moved across the country and started a music school that he runs to this day. He said it was the hardest conversation he had ever had in his life but thanked me for giving it to him so straight, because now he is doing what he loves. I’m so proud of that guy and can’t think of anything more rewarding than that. So I would say as long as your intention is to serve the person in their own best interests, vs yours or the company’s (although you have to represent those interests in the conversation) you can say what needs to be said directly and frankly. They can handle it. And if they can’t, they’re not gonna handle life too well. One of the things I said to VCU kid was, “I learned these lessons by getting fired a bunch of times, let me save you that trouble.”

likeuplifting

Love this so much. Thank you!

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Give them specific examples.

This happened. You did x. I need you to do x + 100. Here’s what I suggest ....

likehelpful

It sounds like OP is talking about a junior with an attitude/arrogance issue. Not necessarily about pulling better performance from them.

And those issues ARE a struggle because although we’re comfortable correcting work issues, it can be uncomfortable correcting attitudinal issues.

likehelpful

I agree. Coaching attitude issues is harder than coaching for performance issues. I’ve had limited success doing so.

The end result for me in almost every case is I’ve ultimately moved them out/away from me, one way or the other.

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Are you giving them tasks at their level that they can achieve? Are you helping them set realistic goals? Are you giving them a wide variety of experiences to teach them?

I find when I don’t keep people busy is when they think they can do anything but when they can sink their teeth in on a project at their level, they realize they have a lot to learn and then actually grow.

likehelpful

Pull performance out of your people. Don’t push them. People are only as good as their managers. If you’re getting upset, you’re doing something wrong. Not just them.

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SC1 - My goal is always hiring people who are better than me. I guess my gripe is “you have nothing to learn, and that’s an issue.”

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“At this point in your career, your level of attitude exceeds your level of talent. I suggest you change one or the other. “

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If this is for a review, ask them to think about what they’ve done well and what they need to work on and send thoughts to you beforehand.

Spend some time with the folks they work with and write down anonymized quotes from them re: those same two things.

Synthesize all that into a doc that you can walk through with the employee (bucket like quotes into themed sections, etc). All of my favorite reviews have been done this way — it makes the truth of what you’re saying unavoidable, feels less confrontational, and sometimes unearths patterns that may not have been obvious through individual conversations.

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What don’t they get? You have to invest time into teaching the juniors. Spend time with them a lot in the beginning, over explain, so you don’t have to babysit them a year from now. And you can’t politely say that.

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Unless you are a guy. You get called out for mansplaining if they clearly don’t know what they are doing.

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Seems like a lot of people are advising you to do a better job coaching them? Nonsense. These kids have attitudes and it doesn’t fly. Put this person on a 30 day notice after which if they have not changed their attitude they are gone. Don’t screw around.

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Ok boomer

likefunny

Is it more overconfidence/arrogance that’s the issue vs their actual performance?

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Tell them you want to see them succeed and in order to do so you advise them to make adjustments in xyz to achieve what they’re capable of. Also ask if they have any concerns that may be holding them back letting them know the door is open.

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Start with lock on question like what is good &effective work to you?

Follow with a expansive question. Describe your week for me what it would look like if your where tops at your job?

Sit back and listen the andwers will come from them.

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You treat them like a person. Instead of thinking how can I bring this person down, consider, what can I do to help them raise to the potential I want out of my people?

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Overconfidence can be a great asset as you can assign them difficult projects to humble them and it’ll work itself out. That or maybe they’ll rise to the occasion and prove out their talent.

So with that said, what seems to be the problem here?

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Don't evaluate them or their performance when talking to them, just ask what you need. And ask for it often, in the moment, without frustration. Ask to do it right. Explain how, if need be. That's why they are a Jr.

SP1: coaching is part of the job but by far the majority of it is getting the work done for the clients at an excellent level. If Junior is getting in the way of this, they need to leave. It’s not your job to Become a personal executive coach. It’s their job to do the work asked of them with the right attitude

I don’t think this mindset is healthy (not an attack on you). If someone is overconfident, that’s not the worst thing in the world. Can’t be so prone to throwing everything away just because one piece is out of place.

I’ve worked with someone who had a very childish/nasty attitude towards things and everyone was ready to fire her. When I got hired on I managed to work with her on this and they later on decided to promote her with how well she turned things around. She had great potential despite her initial poor attitude which is why I worked with her.

I guess what I’m saying is I understand where you’re coming from with expectations, but approaching it the way you mentioned might make someone appear as though they don’t have the managerial skills required for the job. You want to inspire and lead them, not issue orders from the back with high expectations and minimal involvement in their growth.

likesmart

OP what exactly is this person doing that needs to be stopped?

It’s a lot harder than just explaining, but ask probing questions that either enable the person to demonstrate their understanding or will illuminate their lack of it in a way that will enable you to use it as a coaching moment.

For example, if the colleague presented work that they thought would be “ideal for the client,” but was off brief, dial into the brief and challenge them to articulate how it lived within the brief. Probe their understanding of the client, the consumer, the internal client politics or whatever it is would contradict their thinking had they given it proper consideration.

It’s about helping them discover the answers, and teaching them about self reflection. You can then even go so far as to systematize it by saying something like, “the next time you present work, I’d like you to start by outlining how it connects to the brief explicitly, and how it lives within the unwritten world in which we live relative to understanding that, right or wrong, client Stakeholder X has this point of view that we are trying to adjust for the long term, but won’t succeed in doing in the context of presenting this work. “

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