How do you ask someone you are managing why progress has been slow without asking it explicitly?

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Are you blocked by anything? Anything I can help with? When is a reasonable deadline? What can we do to move the deadline ahead?

The idea is, focus on solving the problems through actionable items, instead of questioning the whole process or even make assumptions of someone.

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They are not blocked and they have the skills set to do the tasks, which is why it is difficult question to ask because I suspect they are not working hard enough but I don’t want to demotivate them. I would rather manage with influence if that makes sense?

“Hey do you need help with any open items?”This person may have a full plate and may be hesitant to ask for help.

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Why not ask it explicitly?

“It seems things are progressing slower than I was expecting. Help me understand the drivers behind it, and let’s figure out what we can do to get it back.”

helpful

If progress is slow it could be that they are running into roadblocks - incomplete information, client isn’t responding, they just aren’t sure what next steps are. Maybe just reach out and do some discovery. They may not want to come forward with questions and look bad, so meet them halfway. And if that turns out to be the case, coach them on bringing questions and concerns proactively, which ultimately looks better than just sitting there not getting the work done.

They are not running into roadblocks and I can tell they have the skill set. I try to make the environment safe enough for them to come to me if there are blockers, which is why I want to be tactful about how approach this question

Set the deadline earlier and watch them magically improve or crash and burn. If they improve, great. If they fail, then you still have extra time to make it a teachable moment and diagnose the issue. 9/10 times it’s laziness because there is no need to get stuff done early from their perspective.

10000% agree with KPMG. You don’t have to bully people to get work done. There may be a legitimate reason why their progress has halted (maybe another manager has assigned them work that is more critical). It’s better to come at the issue from a place of genuine curiosity rather than jumping to conclusions.

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