Underperformer to team star – Case Study
I had an underperformer in my new team. I will call her Jane.
Jane was quiet, subdued, almost shy and felt on the fringes of the team rather than part of the team. Jane appeared busy yet I, and other team members, were unsure as to what she actually did or produced. Other team members spoke about Jane with doubt and questions in their voices – like they wanted to challenge why she was in the team.
Trouble was brewing in the team.
It would have been relatively easy to build a case to remove her from the team and recruit a replacement.
I wanted to know more before making any decisions. Spending time with and working alongside Jane revealed an energetic and motivated person. She was busy working on lots of admin type tasks and activities. The type that easily slips under the radar until they are not being done and then all hell breaks loose.
Jane’s problems were not that she was struggling to do the work. Her issues were in communication and direction.
A Joint Plan
Together we created a formal plan of action (Performance Improvement Plan). This plan gave Jane really clear direction, new higher profile activities and projects, and pushed her outside of her comfort zone in terms of communication. This plan also held Jane accountable for delivering results and improving her communication.
Jane was initially really worried she was going to lose her job. These fears quickly faded with the intensive help and support provided to help her overcome the barriers preventing better performance and a higher profile within the team.
Jane’s transformation over three months was amazing.
Jane smashed every single one of her objectives or goals. It was really impressive to see. I got an incredible amount of satisfaction from watching her come out of her shell and become a key team member.
Team Reactions
The other team members went from almost dismissing Jane to raving about her. With better communication, Jane quickly demonstrated her value to the rest of the team, got a lot more involved in team life and gained a lot of confidence.
Jane went from an underperformer to a team star, in about 5 months. Jane was awarded a very strong performance grade at her next appraisal. A complete transformation. Jane subsequently got a lot more development opportunities, which pushed her career forward a lot faster.
Results
I got an amazing high-performing team member. Recruiting great team members is hard work. They are really tough to find and attract as everyone wants them. Have a couple of stars in your team, and beating team targets becomes a lot easier. If I had not spent as much time with Jane to find out what the problems were, and help her overcome them, the outcome might have been very different AND worse for me, the team and the business.
My bosses were also really happy with Jane, the outcomes of the process and the resulting team performance.
The biggest lesson I learnt from this experience is you never know where your next team star will come from AND growing a team star is often easier than finding and recruiting one.
Always make the time to discover your team member’s potential regardless of where they are now and help them realise that potential. Your problematic person could be your next team star!
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