E154: Talking to Employees About Poor Performance, Without the Stress

2025-03-31

In this episode of De-stress Your Business, host Alexis Kingsbury discusses how to effectively manage conversations about employee performance issues. He outlines a three-step framework to address underperformance without causing stress, awkwardness, or defensive reactions. Through specific feedback, clarifying the impact of mistakes, and setting clear expectations for improvement, Alexis provides actionable steps to enhance employee performance and maintain team morale. 01:08 Why Leaders Avoid Performance Conversations 01:29 The Con...

In this episode of De-stress Your Business, host Alexis Kingsbury discusses how to effectively manage conversations about employee performance issues.

He outlines a three-step framework to address underperformance without causing stress, awkwardness, or defensive reactions. Through specific feedback, clarifying the impact of mistakes, and setting clear expectations for improvement, Alexis provides actionable steps to enhance employee performance and maintain team morale.

01:08 Why Leaders Avoid Performance Conversations

01:29 The Consequences of Avoidance

02:17 Setting Clear Expectations

02:59 Giving Specific Feedback

04:07 Focusing on the Impact

04:58 Setting Clear Expectations for Improvement

06:01 Handling Pushback Calmly

07:24 Reinforcing Accountability

08:00 Conclusion and Next Steps

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Helpful resources:

- Get a playbook for resolving unsatisfactory performance available at www.airmanual.co/resources