Set-Up-to-Fail Syndrome

07/01/2013

Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief.
Swedish proverb

"Bosses — albeit accidentally and usually with the best intentions — are often complicit in an employee's lack of success... by creating and reinforcing a dynamic that essentially sets up perceived underperformers to fail," observes Jean Francois Manzoni, in On Managing People (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2011). Here is how this works:

You start with a positive relationship.
Something — a missed deadline, a lost client — makes you question the employee's performance. You begin micromanaging him.
Suspecting your reduced confidence, the employee starts doubting himself. He stops giving his best, responds mechanically to your controls, and avoids decisions.
You view his new behavior as additional proof of his mediocrity — and tighten the screws farther.

Here is Manzoni's prescription for avoiding this syndrome:

Establish expectations with new employees early. Loosen the reigns as they master their jobs.
Regularly challenge your own assumptions. Ask "What are the facts regarding the employee's performance?"
Convey openness, letting employees challenge your opinions. They will feel comfortable discussing their performance and relationship with you.

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