ROUTINE PROBLEMS

Poor Communication

Think about a time when you felt out of the loop due to lack of communication. You might feel insecure about the
situation or not have enough information to make good decisions. The same thing happens in the workplace.

When upper management acts secretive, it can create worry among the staff. Employees start to wonder what the boss
is hiding. Is the company about to fold? Are layoffs on the horizon? Lack of communication can also make employees
feel like their managers don't trust them with information. At the very least, it makes the organization look disorganized
and inefficient. Lack of information also creates a prime environment for assumptions and gossip, which adds to the
confusion.

Colleagues may also be bad about communicating. It's often not intentional. Some people are just better at
communicating information than others. Some people think if they know important information others should know it,
too. But failure to share key details about projects, work policies and other work-related topics can disrupt the flow of
work. Say the boss moves up the deadline for your project by a week but forgets to tell everyone on the team. You'll
likely miss the deadline or have to scramble at the end when you finally find out about the deadline change.

Poor communication often slows down progress. If you don't have the information you need easily, you have to seek it
out, which wastes time. Or you may not even realize you're missing information and make decisions or complete work
without being fully informed, which can lead to mistakes or the need to redo the work.

Bad Management

Bad managers run the gamut from micromanagers who make it feel like you can't breathe without permission to
"buddies" who want to be everyone's friend and provide no real leadership. Unprofessional, overbearing or
inappropriate bosses cause a trickle-down effect that creates lots of problems that may eventually turn into HR issues.

Incompetency at the leadership level can hurt morale and productivity. It's tough to take direction from someone who is
a poor example of a leader, no matter what the reason. Some boss behaviors can cause friction between employees. A
boss who plays favorites can create resentment between co-workers, for example. If a manager fails to address poor
performance, employees may continue to slack or get progressively worse, which decreases the overall quality of what
the company produces.

Conflicting Styles

You probably have at least one person in your life with whom you butt heads. You just have two completely different
styles of handling life. Conflicting personalities and working styles can cause major workplace issues for those involved.
One example is a highly competitive type A personality who likes to control everything working with someone who's
very laid back with little regard to deadlines or urgency. If those two people have to work on projects together
frequently, there's a good chance of conflict because their styles are so different and incompatible.

Even if you're not involved in a tension-filled colleague relationship, you may feel the effects of people who are. When
two co-workers butt heads frequently, it can cast a negative feeling on everyone in the office. People might start to take
sides or withdraw from the relationship. Conflicting personalities can make it difficult to create a teamwork-based
environment.

High-Stress Work Environments

A little stress can help you perform well, but a lot of stress often has a negative effect. Consistently high stress levels
can cause issues in the workplace. Some jobs are naturally higher stress than others. Working in a hospital emergency
room keeps you in a fast-paced life or death situation most of the time.

In other workplaces, stress is induced because of the managerial style or overall corporate culture. An example is a
highly competitive work environment where employees are encouraged to do whatever it takes to beat their co-workers.
Pressure from above often makes a workplace more stressful. Your boss may be feeling the heat from her boss on
productivity, for example. She then takes that out on you, causing you more stress.

Bullying Behaviors

Bullying in the workplace goes beyond conflicting personalities or people you don't like. A workplace bully uses
intimidation to undermine a colleague. The behavior can cause emotional harm to the person on the receiving end of
the behavior. Examples of bullying include creating malicious rumors, belittling someone, screaming or using profanities
toward a co-worker, tampering with a person's belongings, and physically threatening someone.

A similar and related behavior is harassment. Workplace harassment can take different forms. Making inappropriate
and offensive comments or jokes is one example. Physical harassment is another issue in some workplaces. This can
include any type of touch that someone doesn't want, including pushing and groping. Unwanted sexual advances also
fall into this category. All of these harassment issues make the victim feel unsafe at work.

Discrimination Workplace Issues

Another major cause of workplace issues is that of discrimination. Not only do these types of behavior create a negative
work environment, they are also illegal. Discrimination laws are in place to protect everybody in the workplace. But that
doesn't mean that all workplaces are free of discrimination. .

Discrimination is not only harmful to the person being discriminated against.; it also may have a negative impact on
every one. Discriminating behaviors should be reported immediately, so that they can be stopped, which will also
minimize the damaging effects.

6 Common Workplace Concerns and Solutions

In the U.S., the average work-week is approximately 40 hours. Most employees take a few holidays every year, but did you know that
around 30 percent of our life is spent in the workplace? Given the vast amount of time we spend at our jobs, it is not surprising that certain
concerns may arise from time to time. Nevertheless, addressing problems quickly and effectively is the best way to get back on track.

Of course, each individual situation will call for a slightly different course of action, yet there are some specific strategies that may just
prevent certain issues from escalating further than they need to.

Here, we review some common roadblocks that workers often encounter, and options for addressing them.

1. Low motivation and job satisfaction

Generally, employees want to do a good job. Their intention is to become a valuable member of the organization, and hopefully, impress
their managers and customers in the process. However, some managers may unintentionally fail to notice the effort and contribution that
their staff puts forward. Yet, intentional or not, employees who feel underappreciated tend to become disengaged and even dissatisfied
with their job.

Solution: Managers may not be as attuned to their subordinates’ work as the employees themselves. Employees should keep their
superiors up-to-date on their accomplishments. For example, an employee who created a top ad campaign which pleased an important
client may want to gently remind their boss of their achievement and how it positively impacted the department and
company. Employees, however, should not expect to be recognized for every small task they complete (e.i., submitting a report a day
early).

2. Extended work hours

Every now and then, employees must contribute extra hours to complete a specific task or project. Yet, if an employee’s work hours
increase to the point where his or her health and/or family life is affected, the employee may lose motivation to work to their best
potential.

Solution: Employees in this situation should gently let management know the negative impact that the extensive work hours are having
on other aspects of their life. While letting their superiors know that their job is important to them, they should ask for and/or offer
suggestions for improving his work-life balance; for example, working from home when possible.
3. Interpersonal conflict

Although we may try to please everyone, sometimes we encounter an individual with whom it’s difficult to find common ground.
Whether colleague, superior, or subordinate, when professional viewpoints don’t fit together, productivity and efficiency often suffer.

Solution: Deal with the individual by speaking to him or her in a neutral, non-accusatory tone. Try complimenting the individual on their
hard work, and when the time is right, ask if you can set time aside to calmly settle your differences and discuss what might be the best
way to go forward. Remember that everyone has a story to tell, and often a person just needs to talk to someone who is willing to listen.

4. Being passed over for a promotion

It’s not an unusual occurrence where an employee who feels they have aptly earned a promotion is overlooked for another colleague.
While management’s decision may have been justified, this can still negatively affect the passed-over employee, having a damaging
impact on job performance.

Solution: Employees in this situation should consider speaking to their manager and state openly that he or she had hoped to have the
opportunity to move into the new role. However, follow up by asking what could be done to increase their future chances of a promotion,
should another position become available.

5. Low wages

This can be problematic especially if the concerned employee strongly feels that he or she has contributed a great deal to the organization.

Solution: The employee may consider addressing the issue if he or she did not receive a promised or contracted salary or pay increase.
Ask to schedule a meeting with your manager, inquiring if there was a reason that the projected salary was not implemented. Sometimes,
there may have been a clerical error or a misunderstanding. If not, inquire what can be done to put the agreed-upon salary into effect.

6. Lack of training

It is sometimes the case that employees feel that they did not receive either enough or the proper on-the-job training to perform at their
best level.

Solution: Employees should call to the attention of their superiors their desire to undergo training in specific areas, and ask for options in
receiving additional instruction

YOU’RE OVERWHELMED WITH WORK

If your workload has increased dramatically, and even bathroom breaks stress you out, you probably
need to talk with your manager about your workload.

What to do: Pick a time when your manager isn’t rushed and ask to meet. Explain that your workload
has become chronically unmanageable and why — for instance, that a particular account has doubled
in size in the last year or that you’ve taken on the responsibilities of someone who left without
anything being removed from your plate.
Explaining what’s behind the workload increase is helpful because your manager may not be as
attuned to the context as you. Then suggest some options. For instance, you might say, “I can do A
and B, but not C. Or if C is really crucial, I’d want to move A off my plate to make room for it.
Alternately, I can act as an adviser to Jenna on C, but I can’t do C myself if I’m also doing A and B.”
And if your manager won’t help you prioritize, then come up with your own proposal for what you
will and won’t prioritize and ask her to tweak it or approve it.

YOUR BOSS QUITS OR IS FIRED

The boss who always sung your praises to higher-ups and made sure your projects were successful is
leaving, and you’re worried that her replacement won’t share her (or your) vision — or that she just
won’t be as pleasant to work with.

What to do: Stay calm. The new boss could be just as good as your old boss, or even better. Or, yes,
it might turn out that you don’t enjoy working with her — but you can’t know until you get to know
her. So, while there’s nothing wrong with polishing up your resume and putting out feelers to your
network, wait and see how things shake out before making any drastic moves.
In the interim, the best thing you can do is pitch in and help keep your department running smoothly,
which can position you well in your organization and act as a reputation-enhancer. Try acting as a
helpful resource to the new manager when she starts and try to reserve judgment on her style and
competence until she’s had a chance to settle in. After all, few of us would like to be permanently
judged based on our first few weeks in a job.

THE JOB YOU HAVE IS DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE YOU APPLIED FOR
You were hired to manage sales, but you end up managing spreadsheets. Or your “marketing director”
job turns out to be little more than making cold calls to prospects. It might not have been a deliberate
bait-and-switch, but the work sure isn’t what you were told in the interview.

What to do: Start by talking to your boss. Say something like, “When I was hired for this job, we
talked about it being mostly client work, with some admin duties. But in my first three months, the job
has been about 90 percent admin work without much client interaction. Can we talk about what
changed and whether there’s a way to reshape my work to look more like what we initially talked
about?”
Make sure your tone is calm and collaborative, not frustrated or angry. You’ll get better results if you
make it clear that you’re in problem-solving mode, not complaint mode. You might hear that the job
has simply changed and there’s nothing that can be done, but you might also nudge your manager into
realizing she needs to adjust your work. Either way, you’ll leave this conversation with a better idea of
what to expect from this job in the future and can make decisions accordingly.

YOU KEEP RUNNING INTO CONFLICT WITH A DIFFICULT CO-WORKER

You’ve tried to be nice, but every conversation with him devolves into disagreement and strife, which
makes it hard to get shared projects done … and considering that we spend one-third of our waking
time with co-workers, you’d like more harmonious relations.

What to do: First, remove your ego from the equation. You don’t have to like your co-worker, and
you certainly don’t have to “win” every interaction; you just need to be able to work together.
Being nice even when you don’t feel like it can thaw relations, so ask yourself: Is there anything your
co-worker does that you genuinely admire and can compliment him on? Something you can seek his
advice on (painful as it might be to do)? A month or so of concerted effort in this direction can
sometimes make a difference.

But if not … well, sometimes simply realizing that difficult people’s behavior is about them, not you,
can make them easier to deal with. And since you’re never going to be able to eliminate difficult
people from your work life entirely, figuring out how to remain unflappable in the face of crazy-
making personalities can be surprisingly satisfying.

YOUR BOSS DOESN’T NOTICE THE WORK YOU DO

You’re churning out reams of work, winning over clients and generally being an all-around rock star,
but none of it has registered on your manager’s radar.

What to do: It’s natural to want your boss to recognize your achievements on her own, but the reality
is that few managers will be as attuned to your work as you are, and most will count on you to keep
them up-to-date. So don’t sit around waiting for your work to be noticed — become your own
advocate. You might feel awkward tooting your own horn, but your boss wants to know about what
you’re doing well.
Start highlighting key victories when you talk, and don’t be shy about passing along praise. It’s not
unseemly bragging to mention things like, “The client was really happy with the work we sent over
last week and said the designs I showed them clinched their contract renewal for next year.” That’s
just keeping your boss in the loop about what’s getting done and how it’s being received.
Do this in moderation, of course; it’s going to seem weird if you’re relaying every tiny compliment or
trumpeting that you filed a report a half-day early. And related to that, keep in mind that you don’t
need recognition for every single thing you do. The pattern is what you want to pay attention to here:
Does your boss generally think you’re doing a great job and understand what your biggest
contributions have been? If so, don’t get alarmed if she doesn’t take note of every individual triumph
you have.

YOU’VE MADE A MAJOR MISTAKE THAT TRULY HARMED YOUR TEAM

You’re human and you’ll make mistakes now and then, but when it’s high-profile (like a damaging
quote in a news article) or costly (like losing a major account), it can be hard to know how to face
your boss.

What to do: The worst thing you can do here is to duck responsibility. Your boss will be far more
alarmed that you’re not owning your actions than if you face up to them directly. So, tell your
manager what happened, quickly. And make it clear that you understand what a big deal the mistake
was. If you proactively show that you get that, there’s no need for your manager to underscore it for
you. Try words like, “I realize how serious this is” and “I understand the impact this has.”
Then, explain how you’re planning to mitigate the damage and — crucially — how you’ll ensure it
doesn’t happen again. And if there are larger lessons here, address those, too. (For instance, “This has
made me realize that I need to do site visits more frequently so I can spot problems before they take
root.”) That will help your boss evaluate how well you learned from experience and how much trust
she should put in you in the future.

YOU GET A BAD PERFORMANCE REVIEW

You thought things were going OK, but now you’re staring at an evaluation that says “doesn’t meet
expectations.” There were no signs indicating that your performance wasn’t up to snuff, and, in fact,
your boss just sent an email last week praising you on a job well done on that last project. What gives?

What to do: First, don’t panic and don’t get defensive. Too often in this situation, people become so
focused on how to defend themselves that they forget to really listen to what they’re being told about
what they need to do differently. Understanding your manager’s concerns will be crucial to a good
outcome, so listen and ask enough questions that you truly know what you’re being asked to change.
From there, show that you take the feedback seriously by using language like, “I’m glad you’re telling
me this. I hadn’t realized this was a concern and I’m glad to have the chance to work on it.” And tell
your manager what you plan to do to address her feedback, even if it’s as simple as, “I’m going to take
some time to think about this and figure out how to resolve these issues.”

It’s worth noting, too, that a good manager will work to ensure a bad performance review is never a
surprise by giving regular feedback throughout the year. So if this is the first you’re hearing of these
issues, your manager dropped the ball earlier and it’s reasonable for you to ask to hear about problems
in real time in the future.

That said, no manager will ever be perfect, so while it would be nice if you could assume you’ll
always hear about issues before they blow up, you should pay attention to signs that trouble might be
brewing. For instance, if your boss suddenly starts to micromanage your work or begins sending you
critical feedback in writing, she might have serious concerns about your performance. It’s worth
asking to check in about how things are going so that you’re less likely to be blindsided by a critical
review down the road.
You have people working for you. You count on them to get the job done, because the success of your
business depends, in large part, on their performance. One of the most important — and often
unpleasant — parts of your job is to ensure that your people do their jobs well.

Most people do a good job most of the time. A few of them cause occasional problems. All of them
probably screw up every once in a while. You need to handle problems and screw ups. You might say, “I
don't have the time. I have too many other things to do — budgets, reports, dealing with customers, etc.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. You have to get things done through your people. You can't do it
all yourself. You have to make time to fix performance problems.

In more than 30 years as a management consultant and executive coach, I have had one type of request
for service more than any other: fixing performance problems. While I have assisted many business
owners and managers in fixing these problems, I prefer to teach them how to do it themselves and not
rely on me. Business today is competitive. You have to get the best out of the people who work for you.

Performance problems vary from individual to individual and situation to situation. Just as no two
problems are exactly the same, there is no silver bullet, no one best way of fixing them. On the other
hand, I have found that most performance problems fall into one of 11 categories. You can use a similar
approach to fix problems that fall into a specific category.

There's no one fix to all performance problems. Each one is unique to the individual and situation. In
this article, I'll describe each of the 11 categories, explain the reasons behind them and then suggest what
to do to fix performance problems that fall into each category. When you finish reading, you should have
a good idea of how to identify the 11 most common types of performance problems, why they happen and
how to fix them.

Problem 1: The people who work for you don't know what they are supposed to do.

Why This Happens: You have not set and communicated clear expectations and standards. You have not
reinforced the importance of the expectations and standards you've set.

Solution: Explain exactly what you expect them to do and how they need to do it. Clearly describe what
good performance looks like.

Problem 2: The people who work for you don't know why they should do what they are supposed to do.

Why This Happens: You haven't explained the business reasons for your expectations and standards.
You haven't explained the personal benefits your people will see if they meet your expectations and
standards.

Solution: Explain the reasoning behind performance standards. Make sure people understand why they
are being asked to do what they are supposed to do.
Problem 3: The people who work for you don't know how to do what they are supposed to do.

Why This Happens: You make incorrect assumptions about the knowledge and skill level of the people
who work for you. You've haven't trained your people well. People haven't used a specific skill in some
time. Job requirements have changed. People have lapsed into bad habits and have forgotten the correct
way of doing things.

Solution: Teach people how to do the job correctly: 1) Tell them how to do it. 2) Show them how to do it.
3) Observe them as they attempt to do it. 4) Reinforce what they do well. 5) Redirect what they do poorly
or incorrectly. Make sure they can correctly do what they need to do.

Problem 4: The people who work for you think your way does not work or that their way is better.

Why This Happens: Today's employees think for themselves. They are more likely to challenge
instructions that don't make sense to them. You don't deal with employee challenges and concerns in an
open and respectful manner.

Solution: Listen to their concerns. Use their ideas if possible. Make sure they accept what they need to do
and how they should do it.

Problem 5: The people who work for you think other tasks and activities are more important.

Why This Happens: Most jobs have multiple, competing priorities. Often, people focus on one task — to
the exclusion (and expense) of others. People sometime become victims of the “tyranny of the or,” i.e.,
“What do you want, speed or quality? I can't do both.” “What's more important, making sales calls or
filling out reports? I can't do both.”

Solution: Don't accept the “tyranny of the or.” Teach people the “genius of the and.” Hold everyone
responsible for meeting or exceeding all of the standards associated with the job.

Problem 6: The people who work for you think that they are performing in an acceptable manner.

Why This Happens: You don't provide regular and adequate performance feedback. In the absence of
feedback, people think they are doing a good job.

Solution: Provide everyone who works for you with honest feedback on how well they're doing on a
regular basis.

Problem 7: You reward nonperformance.

Why This Happens: You don't hold people accountable for meeting job expectations. Employees are
allowed to avoid difficult or unpleasant jobs they do poorly. You give these tasks to others. You promote
or transfer people to get them out of your work group. You give problem performers a lot of attention.
Solution: Hold people responsible for doing their jobs. Don't clean up people's messes for them. Keep
the workload even and balanced. Adopt the DBMAPWOAS (Don't Bring Me A Problem Without A
Solution) philosophy. Fix problems — don't promote or transfer them.

Problem 8: Good performance feels like punishment.

Why This Happens: You give good performers (the people you trust and rely on) more work and the
most difficult and unpleasant jobs. You don't monetarily reward high performers, using the excuse “it's
the system.” You take your high performers for granted. You don't listen to your high performers.

Solution: Don't punish your good performers by overworking them. Don't use the excuse “it's the
system” to punish your good performers. Listen to your people when they suggest ways to handle
problems. Don't make their work more difficult by ignoring their suggestions.

Problem 9: You don't reward good performance.

Why This Happens: You are uncomfortable paying compliments. You assume people know you think
they're doing a good job. You think that money is the only way to reward somebody.

Solution: Money is not the only way to reward good performance. Tune into WII- FM (What's In It For
Me). People continue to do the things for which they get rewarded. Reward good performance. Be timely.
Be specific. Be sincere. Explain how the good performance fits into the big picture.

Problem 10: You sanction poor performance.

Why This Happens: You don't like to punish employees who are not doing a good job.

Solution: Most people will perform well as long as they know what to do and how to do it. The great
majority of people will need little more than a gentle nudge (a conversation about how they are failing to
meet expectations) to get them back on track. When a nudge doesn't work, a kick in the butt (an explicit
statement of the potential negative consequences) usually does the trick. When a kick in the butt doesn't
work, a 2X4 to the head (the experience of negative consequences) might be necessary. Deliver negative
consequences when you must. Take it slowly, step by step. Don't use a kick in the butt or a 2X4 to the
head when a gentle nudge will do.

Problem 11: The people who work for you encounter obstacles they cannot control.

Why This Happens: There are organizational policies, procedures and practices that prevent people
from performing at a high level. People don't realize they have the wherewithal to remove or overcome
an obstacle. People lack the skills necessary to do what it takes to perform well.

Solution: Make it easy for your people to do their jobs. Identify and change policies, procedures and
practices that are, in reality, obstacles to good performance. Listen to your people when they point out
something that needs changing so they can do their job better. Make sure people have the skills and tools
to do a good job.

There you have it: 11 types of performance problems, why they happen and what to do about them.
Hopefully, you have some new knowledge. But as I tell audiences when I speak, “knowing's not enough.”
Here's hoping you'll take this knowledge and use it.