Performance plan when you want the team member to think independently

[Mynameishi]

I have a team member who is not performing to what I think is an acceptable level. The biggest issue is that she is a manager (doesn't manage people but manages an area of work if that makes sense). She simply does not think for herself. The challenge I have is how do I frame this in a performance plan. If I ask her to do x or y she will do them and will do them to a high ability. However the issue is that is all she does and does not come up with ideas, identify challenges and makes the necessary changes. Which means that I have to do all the thinking in the role. In my case I would say that if she is just doing and I am doing the thinking then I can recruit someone at a lower level as she is not managing the area.

The query is how do I frame the performance plan? When I did it previously it was a list of things, with support available and expecting a tangible quality of the outcomes. But this is not the work that is not good, but the thinking and ideas etc. Any ideas? I hope this makes sense.

Yeah that's much harder. Assuming the resources to refer to and consider when making decisions are all available and being engaged with them it might be useful to have a coaching approach. Or a '3 before me' kind of thing.

So your expectations are that she'll have accessed any resources, and drafted possible solutions and maybe consulted with peers or stakeholders before coming to you. And then if she does come to you it's always with proposal for a solution that you can then discuss.
The coaching approach is then less about instructing her and asking her what she thinks she should do, why, why not x instead, what have you considered etc.

Very hard to nail in a performance plan though.
Also, maybe linking it to company values in some way - taking ownership or being solutions focused or whatever your values are. So it's her behaviours rather than her work that you're managing on the plan

Never heard about 3 before me but sounds like really the right thing. The coaching approach is really the right way and hope that we get there.

It can be useful to force people to cast a wider net and not wait to be told what to do. Good luck. It's a hard thing to improve.

Does she wfh? I do find that has an impact on me. Feel so disengaged from things. I need that stimulus from being around people, learning from hearing conversations of others, bouncing ideas around in conversations. That sparks my own thinking. If I am just at home I am just task focused.

This is really hard. I think you have to spell out the steps she needs to take in her work / improvement plan. So stuff like "monitor area X and identify proactively where improvements or new solutions are needed. Take ownership for developing solutions - use own initiative and seek feedback on your proposed solutions from colleagues where needed, then make your own informed choice".

I would also check whether you've got support up the line to manage this colleague hard against her work plan, as if not it gets very tricky. If you don't have the support, then I wouldn't rule out stepping back from putting in all the strategic effort you're currently doing, so they can see what happens when you step back.

Can I suggest you read the one minute manager meets the monkey? Might give you some ideas on how to get your team member to own the issues.

These are so helpful and so much food for thought. I do indeed have my line management support which is good. She works 2 in office and 3 from home but wants to do more from home.

You cannot change her personality or ability to be able to be pro-active and strategic.

It simply sounds like you chose the wrong person for the job.

She needs to be part of a team rather than have a stand-alone manager role where she is responsible for more than just doing what she is asked to do.

The other thing is, have you had a clear and specific chat with her about what is expected at colleagues at different grades? I've previously had to say "at X (more junior) grade I would expect colleagues to be given tasks to do by other team members, which they complete to a good standard with some oversight / support from others. At Y grade, colleagues are paid more to proactively identify what needs doing and take ownership of their work plan, with minimal revisions /changes needed". It really helps if you have a set of role profiles you can draw on to support this chat.

So good that you have support up the line - I've been in your position and not had that support, which basically made taking action impossible.

Oh, and one other thought. If you don't think your team member is ultimately able to change, in some situations I think it's also ok to have a chat with her about the need for her to find a new job, in an agreed timeframe, that's a better fit for her skill set. But she would need to actually follow through on this, and it's tricky to know if she would.

How long has she worked for the company and how long for you?

We both started 1.5years ago (I was not really involved in her recruitment).

Managing people is by far the most challenging job of any manager. If you're just going through the motions with a pp and don't really see her ever getting to the standard required, I'd cut my losses now and offer her a settlement agreement to move on. Quicker and less painful for all involved but you need the backing of your manager and the legal team. It won't cost much if she's only been there a short time.

A very obvious question - but what was the outcome of the initial conversation you had with her about your expectations re the need for her to come up with ideas, identify challenges and makes the necessary changes?

I have had a number of discussions with her, And typically the discussions go 2 ways... she admits that she has no ideas about what to do ... or... her ideas are things that are not in our gift to change e.g. the problem is that we don't have a snazzy system to do finance reporting (we are not in finance) and things are clunky and so that is why she cannot do things ...which i think we can.. it just is not as easy as clicking a button.