Telling the truth

What is the problem with telling people that they are not doing a good job or they may not be the right kind of person to do a job? Why are we SO careful about being honest?

I was raised to be kind, polite and tactful. Therefore, I choose my words wisely and work very hard to make sure that the meaning of what I say is understood. But does that preclude us from being honest?

Think about the world of work these days. How many times have you seen someone that you KNOW can’t do a job being rewarded or coached or coddled? What is the benefit of that? Nothing! What are we teaching them? That it’s okay or even acceptable to not do what you are hired to do WELL. It feels like we workplaces have become a haven for “blow-softeners” or “excusoids”.

It is as if we have made work in organizations the last bastion of mediocrity. There has been talk for many years regarding pay for performance or accountability in the workplace (said with a deep radio voice). There are even companies that to a fairly good job of implementing these types of structures within their organizations. For the most part, organizations to a sorry job of:

· Having people do what they say they’re going to do well

or

· Doing what they’re paid to do well.

There really no easy answers to the issue of accountability or doing what you say you’re going to do. We are human and therefore prone to not fulfilling on things. But if we hold ourselves up a little bit of scrutiny, we will find organizations that do not do a very good job of telling the truth when it come to doing a job, good or bad.

It is actually easy to set up structures to recognize people that do a good job. However, if we are not actively concentrating on making an example of those people that do a great job and providing them with the opportunities and rewards we are going to accept mediocrity.
Just like losing weight, there is only one sure fire way to make that happen. You have to eat better and exercise more. All of the different ways that you do it are paths to the same place. If we want to get better performance out of our organizations we have to do a better job of telling the truth.

That means when someone isn’t pulling their weight we have to tell them. When someone isn’t right for the job we have to help them find a new one. When someone doesn’t do what they say they’re going to do we have to hold them accountable. When someone breaks a rule there has to be consequences. When someone mistreats a fellow employee they have to be dealt with accordingly, regardless of position within the organization. Although there has to be a process, it must be OK to move people out of the organization that aren’t working out in their role. It is really just that simple. If we don’t, then people will see that they can work the system. They will see that it’s OK to just get by. Great companies don’t just get by.

There are huge benefits to having a culture in which people are held to account. A culture that rewards success, risk and action in their employees will generally be successful. Companies that don’t will eventually find themselves with their doors shuttered.
Just like in breaking any bad habit, the first step is to admit that there’s a problem. Look in your organization. Can you see more people that can’t or aren’t pulling their weight (doing what they said or should be doing)? That is a big problem.

Now before you start firing people willy nilly for coming in late, you have to establish systems and structures that ensure your people are clear about:
· What is expected of them
· What success looks like
· How performance will be rated
· What will happen if they don’t follow the rules
· That it’s OK to take risks
· That they will be rewarded for doing a great job

You must also train your managers on how to administer the systems. They must be examples of the structure and this style of work. You must hold them accountable as well for their behaviors and actions.

Only then can we stop coddling people and start telling the truth. Bad performance is bad performance. People want to do a great job, but only if they know what it takes to win and the reward is worth it. One of the keys to organizational health is honesty. Honesty promotes trust. Trust promotes creativity and communication. Creativity and communication create growth.

Honesty is vital to all of our organization’s success.