There are multiple things how to improve the performance of a team, but first we want to understand how we recognize performance issues. See the following list of signals of dysfunctioning teams.
The following sections will dive deeper into each of the dysfunctions I observed in the past and how I try to address them.
Avoiding Ownership
Mostly caused by clarity on responsibilities, fear of failure, or low confidence. Try to give space to make decisions, reward small wins.
Not Shipping
Investigate tooling, testing practices, and check if features are too big. Mostly caused by developers not knowing how to break down tasks.
People Drama
Someone people, when not happy, start to gossip and create drama. Such issues need immediate action. Try to set clear examples of expected behaviour and potential consequences.
Collaboration Problems
Hold regular touch bases with peers to find potential conflicts. Add space around work to allow bonding experiences (such as fun after work).
Unable to say 'no'
First, reframe saying no to being responsible with time. Try to give permission of saying no, for example "You can say no to this task because it's not in your scope".
Help to reframe like "Friday will not work, but we can do it on Tuesday next week". Offer to train with role-play.
Hard to work with
Many 'hard to work with people' act from frustration. Make them feel heard, then shift to behaviour awareness, then coach. Check-in regularly.
It's important to set clear expectations and consequences like "You're a strong engineer, but collaboration is a key part of your role. If this pattern continues, it will impact your growth here."
As a manager you want to identify and take action on underperformance as early as possible, as failure to act early can greatly affect the performance of the team as a whole. As a team member you want to talk to your manager as early as possible to prevent a trust drop.
Now, let's take a look at the two types of underperformance, will based and skill based.
Will based underperformance, is often rooted in a lack of motivation. We need to understand the type of unhappiness like workload, misalignment, missing recognition, or broken process here first. Understand the root cause and try to work with the person to resolve it.
Example: Alex has been missing deadlines and seems disengaged in meetings. After a one-on-one conversation, you learn that Alex feels unrecognized for their work. This lack of recognition has caused a drop in motivation.
Usually, great steps are acknowledging the emotion, make workload visible, and rebuilding agency via small wins. Keep in mind that most people feel unhappy when they feel nothing changes, giving them a sense of control is key.
The more stronger type of will based underperformance is refusal to align.
Every person I’ve fired, both ICs and managers, refused to align their goals with the company’s.
If a person values their own direction over the company's direction, we want to to be be explcit about expectations and set out a specific timeframe to align like a 60 days plan.
Skill based underperformance can have many faces.
| Name | Resolution | Dive Deeper |
|---|---|---|
| Technical | Offer online courses, pair with a senior engineer, offer direct mentoring. | |
| Emotional | Be a role model by actively listening, teach emotion labeling, admit small mistakes openly. | |
| Prioritization | Make sure long-term vision is visible. Also try to reduce work in progress for people who struggle with focus until you see improvements. | |
| Communication | Practice effective communication. |
Skill based underperformance has a positive side of opportunity, as it can be improved by training and collaboration, whereas will based underperformance is more difficult to change, depends on the root cause.