Take the Lead: How to Supportively Guide Non-Performers Toward Success

It is not a question of if but when you will have to deal with a non-performing team member. After 18 years in advertising, I can tell you — it has happened to me multiple times, and it never gets easy. The first time was particularly rough. I had someone on my team in Singapore who was genuinely a lovely person, always the first to organize team lunches, always positive in meetings. But their deliverables were consistently below what the client expected, and the rest of the team was quietly picking up the slack. I kept hoping the situation would sort itself out. It did not :P

A non-performing team member is someone who is not a good fit with your team or the organization — whether that is a hard skill gap or a cultural mismatch. Maybe they are consistently late, produce low-quality work, or just seem disengaged. The reasons vary, and I think it is important to understand the "why" before jumping to conclusions.

Talk to your manager first

If you are a new people manager, this is my strongest piece of advice: get your line manager's perspective before you decide someone is underperforming. I have to admit, early in my career I was too quick to label people. The reality is that most companies do not deliberately hire people who are wrong for the role. There might be context you are missing — personal circumstances, a bad onboarding experience, a mismatch between what was promised in the interview and what the role actually entails. Dig deeper.

Have the conversation early

One of the worst situations I have seen (and I might be wrong, but from my experience this is the single biggest mistake new managers make) is waiting too long to address underperformance. If you have the tough conversation early, set clear expectations, and give the person a genuine chance to improve, the turnaround rate is actually decent. Procrastinate, and the problem compounds — the person's confidence erodes, the team gets frustrated, and by the time you finally address it, everyone is already checked out.

The trickiest version of this? When the non-performing member is someone you get along with really well outside of work. I have been there. You grab coffee together, you laugh at each other's jokes, and then you have to sit them down and tell them their work is not meeting expectations. It is uncomfortable. But from my experience, they usually already know something is off, and they would rather hear it from someone who cares about them than be blindsided later. T.T

The improvement plan

A discussion with HR should happen because labor laws differ significantly across countries (I learned this the hard way navigating the differences between Singapore and US employment law). Most likely, you will put together a personal improvement plan. A few things I have learned:

• Set clear and measurable goals in writing. Vague feedback like "improve your work quality" is useless. Be specific — "deliver client reports with zero factual errors for the next four weeks" is something you can actually measure. Another example: instead of "be more responsive," try "respond to all client emails within four business hours." Or instead of "take more initiative," try "identify and propose one process improvement per sprint, with a written recommendation."
• Be objective and fair. Treat them as you would want to be treated if the situation were reversed. I always come back to this mental test.
• Ask yourself this honest question: if they accomplish all the goals in the plan, would you genuinely want them to stay on your team? If the answer is no, then your plan is not fair enough, and believe me — people can tell. They know when the game is rigged.
• Get alignment with your team member on the plan and the timeline for review. This is not something you do to them. It should be something you work on with them.
• Provide regular feedback along the way. Do not wait until the formal review date. Check in weekly. Acknowledge progress when you see it.

When it does not work out

I am a firm believer that people can learn to do almost anything they set their minds to. But I have also worked with enough people to appreciate that not everyone is a good fit for every role. Sometimes, despite everyone's best efforts, you need to let someone go.

When that happens, think about how you would feel in their shoes. I think about this a lot. Chances are, most people will change jobs several times in their lives, and not being right for one specific position is entirely normal. It does not make them a failure. It means the fit was wrong. So treat them with respect, help them transition if you can, and be decent about it. The way you handle someone's exit says more about your leadership than any promotion you have ever given. (More on this in my post about handling career progression conversations.)

The bigger picture

At the end of the day, dealing with underperformance is one of the hardest parts of people management. It is emotionally draining, it takes time away from other work, and there is no version of it that feels good. But I think doing it well — with fairness, honesty, and genuine care — is one of the most important things you can do as a leader. Your team is watching how you handle it, even if they never say so.

How do you approach underperformance on your team? I am still refining my own approach after all these years, and I would genuinely love to hear what has worked for you.

Cheers,

Chandler