The difference between an effective and ineffective manager in addressing poor performance and holding people accountable is the ability to look right through the smoke screen to the root cause of the problem and to see things for what they are.

I remember my first real review, and I say real because it was the first time one of my supervisors actually took the time and invested the efforts to tell me things I did not want to hear, tell me that I was not perfect and the areas that I needed to improve and how I could do that with his help. Believe me I was able to give my boss tons of good reasons (and truly believed in them) for why I did things that way and how this was not my fault and so on… sounds familiar to you?

Well, my boss did not let go, kept pushing and went after me until I gave in. It took me a couple of days to truly understand and accept his feedback, and looking back, I will be forever thankful that he invested the energy to help me change and improve. Continue reading The smoke screen! →