People - You Cant Make Them What Theyre Not

Many business people and managers are spending too much time trying to change the underperforming people who work for them. They seem to believe that if they train people - tell them what to do or even threaten them with the sack - then the performance level will go up.

The successful manager concentrates on developing the strengths of his team members - not trying to correct their weaknesses. Sometimes you have to manage around a weakness, but you can't make people what they're not.

Some years ago I decided to improve my golf by taking some lessons. A friend and I spent some hours with a professional golfer and coach at a local country club. This was really useful to me and I did get better. However my friend Robin hadn't a clue. No matter what the pro told him to do, how to change his stance and his grip, he could hardly hit the ball.

If you'd given Robin a hundred lessons and threatened him with a gun, I doubt if he'd ever have completed a round of golf in less than two days. Robin is a successful lawyer and makes a lot of money, however a golfer - he is not.

So if you have a sales person on your team who isn't bringing in the sales or a production engineer who isn't making his quota, then you have to make a decision. Is this person not producing because they don't have the ability - because they need more training or - because there's another reason?

You can read more about coaching and other reasons for non performance in my book - "How to get more Sales by Motivating your Team" but for the moment it's important to understand that the individual may not be able to do the job.

They may tell you they can do the job because they're unwilling to accept defeat; however I've known people in sales jobs who shouldn't be in sales and doctors, plumbers, lawyers and engineers who were also in the wrong job.

What you need to do is get people who can't do the job into a job that they can do or get them out of your team.

I joined three companies as a manager and in each case I inherited team members who didn't have what it takes to do the job. I'd usually find three categories of people in the teams - The first group were the 'good guys,' the ones I knew could do the job and wouldn't give me any hassle.

The second group consisted of people who needed a bit of looking after, watching closely and definitely some coaching.

The third group were the ones didn't have either the skills or the characteristics to do the job and no amount of training, or anything I could do, would change that. I would often find that these people, due to their lack of success, weren't exactly happy in the job anyway and were sometimes only too pleased to be transferred to another position.

I hear you saying - "easier said than done Alan" and you're right. But the successful manager needs to address these issues for the good of the team and the business.

The successful manager concentrates on strengths not weaknesses. It's vital to give your people feedback on their strengths and also on their weaknesses. However these should only be weaknesses that you know the individual can do something about.

It's a waste of your time and effort trying to sort weaknesses that can't be sorted. Some people just can't build relationships with customers; others can't work as fast as you need them to and others can't write a report to save their life.

Your most productive time as a manager will be spent giving feedback on strengths and how to develop these even further. Many managers spend the majority of their time with team members trying to resolve weaknesses. They then don't have the time or sometimes the capability to give feedback on strengths.

Discover how you can generate more business by motivating your team! Alan Fairweather is the author of "How to get More Sales by Motivating Your Team" This book is packed with practical things you can do to get the best out of your people . Click here now http://www.howtogetmoresales.com

---

What To Do When Your IT Project Is Late, Over Budget, and Looks Like It?s Never Going To Work

Here's a scary statistic. According to four prominent research firms,... Read More

Dont Get Caught With Your PR Down

Why risk the embarassment when with a little basic PR... Read More

Keeping Meetings On Track

We all have been in meetings with certain people who... Read More

Leadership Skills

Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at... Read More

Five Days to More Effective Inventory Management

The litany of headaches related to the implementation and on-going... Read More

The Three-Dimensional Communication System

Human communication is always three-dimensional. No spoken or written message... Read More

Resolving Needs - What Your Employees Wish For!

For your people, they want to do a great job... Read More

Make a Difference - Sweat the Small Stuff First

My background is in retail management - yes, running stores,... Read More

How to Approach Group Decision Making

GROUP DECISION MAKING -- IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM: Tell specifically what... Read More

Why Half of All Mergers Fail After the Honeymoon Ends

Marriages and corporate mergers in America have at least one... Read More

Meaningful Diversity: Creating Cultures of Inclusion

In the fitness room the other day, I caught a... Read More

Prioritise Your Day - Keep Focus - Win!

Whether you run your own business or manage a team,... Read More

IT Expenditure - Why Businesses Spend Huge Amounts on Ineffective IT Investments

Another IT White Elephant!It seems that almost every day we... Read More

Getting Software Developed for Your Business

At some point, your business is going to need to... Read More

5 Interviewing Mistakes That Can Lead To Hiring The Wrong Person

Mistake #1: Going with the flowInexperienced interviewers sometimes fall into... Read More

9 Tips for Getting the Most From Your Conference Investment

Tips for Getting the Most From Your Conference Investment All... Read More

Déjà Vu MCI to Qwest International Inc: Can this Corporate Marriage Survive?

Current Situation:As of this writing, the MCI Board of Governors... Read More

Meetings and Road Trips

Managing a meeting is like setting off on a long... Read More

Choosing the Right Corporate Training

According to a Gallup Poll, 80 percent of employees said... Read More

The Ten Keys to Maximizing Employee Performance

1. Let people know what you expect. If people know... Read More

Innovation Management and Brainstorming Management ? why people hate to brainstorm!

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

The Cheapest, Forget It !

Wouldn't it be great if we got get the cheapest... Read More

Creative People, Innovative People

The title implies that some people are and others not.This... Read More

Importance of Just-In-Time Inventory System

In today's competitive world shorter product life cycles, customers rapid... Read More

Counseling Interviews for the Marginal Employee

ACTIVE LISTENING: The most frequent cause of failure in therapeutic... Read More

Lower the Bar

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." Ralph Waldo EmersonI'm... Read More

Future Business Success - What Does Good Look Like?

When you know you need to shift up a gear,... Read More

Morale Boosters: Feed the Troops First

When economic conditions turn tough or when the heavy work... Read More

Employee Turnover: Is It Eating Up Your Profits?

Keeping the cost of doing business down, yet providing a... Read More

In Leadership, The Critical Convergence Drives Great Results

The Leader's Fallacy lives! We subscribe to the Fallacy when... Read More

Why Would Anyone Hold a Bad Meeting?

Pssst, want a stock tip that will make you rich?... Read More

Delegate, Dont Abdicate

One of the key skills for the leaders of growing... Read More

Lawyers With 2 Hands And Everything Else

I heard this back a few years ago. The boss... Read More