You're leading a team that's underperforming. How can you turn things around?

First, you need to admit that there is a problem. Then, gather your team and do a 360 assessment to find out what's causing the problem. Talk about the things that are affecting the employee's performance. Remind them of what they need to do and what is expected of them. Keep their expectations positive. Work together to make a plan. Check in regularly and follow up on their progress. Lastly, make sure to recognize and appreciate any improvements they make.

I've always found that there are two main areas to look into whenever an issue arises. One is Process and the other is People. The first step is look into Process. Have I, as the leader provided everything to enable the team to perform? Clear directions, training and development opportunities, tools and resources, a good rewards scheme, and assigned the right people for the job? Once I have gone through the checklist of processes, then I look at the 'People'. What are their motivators, aspirations, needs, and personal goals? Taking care of the basics will usually lead to improved team morale and performance.

Assessment is one of the foundational aspects of performance. Understanding what you are assessing and WHY should be the first step. Some simple questions to begin with are: What is our objective? (in sports, trying to win games and a championship. In business, increase sales revenue) Who do we need? Think about the key stakeholders who will guide decision making. Who will support them? Who are your Lieutenants, these are often the people in an organization or business who drive the culture. What resources do they need? Be honest here! Make sure that your goals match your resources and more importantly personnel. If you hire the right people, oftentimes they can overcome some limitations of resources, but not always!

For a team that is underperforming (a business turnaround for example), I want to be sure I'm catching them doing something right and recognizeit. I will meet with each and get an understanding of whats working well and whats not for them - I will even ask what they would do if they were the owner and, if possible, I work their suggestions into the solution. I want to create a safe enviornment and I want them to know via my actions that their opinion matter, In the end, I want to create an atmosphere that allows a motivated person to act.

In my experience it may be the team dynamics. Are their high performers that feel under valued or overlooked for a better role with in the group. Work life balance issues, management style? What ever the reason, everyone on the team wants to feel they contribute value and are valued. For the best results make sure the task being assigned fits what each member is good at.

Goal setting is not only important for a team setting, it is critical in your daily life. Your team's goals must be aligned with the team's core values. Core values are a MUST. Once you have established your core identity you will always have a guiding star to look back upon. Your team's goals should directly match your values. For example, if you label one of your core values as "accountability", you should have objective accountability measures in place. If a goal is met by the prescribed date range, what is the reward? Clearly define the parameters so that you can use both positive and negative accountability as necessary.

Designing a learning solution has to be always based on analysis of the learning needs. To design such a solution we need to keep learner as the focus and have two objectives in place : Learning objectives and Business Objectives (LOBO) LOBO is very effective way of starting a learning solution and then working backwards on achieving these solutions. Since a change of behaviour is required, partnering with the supervisor of the learner for implementing and achieving learning and business objectives is very essential.

Well said. It's like "start with why" which is at the core...once why is identified, How becomes meaningful and facilitates the achievement of the objective.

Understanding the collective potential of the team through team meetings or questionairres and trying to implement collective as well as individual tailormade tasks contrubuting towards the team objective/set goals would be the first step. Variation in exercise patterns and changing the parameters in FITT principle would be a great motivator and an engaging factor for maintaining focus.

Evaluation should always match your goals and core values. Once you clearly identify the objective measurements that your team will be assessed on you must carefully find ways to measure these areas. Once you find these criteria, assess them as objectively as possible. After doing this, take the next and MOST IMPORTANT step! Look at the context around the situation. No two situations are alike just like no two employees are identical. You must use empathy understanding as your cornerstones when making tough decisions. When evaluating a team, these are some of the most important considerations!