Why do some employees perform poorly?

I recently read a book called, "Harvard Business Review on Managing People".  Within this book, there were several journal articles.  One of the articles called, "The Set-Up-to-Fail Syndrome" was very interesting because the authors Manzoni and Barsoux provide insight into why employees perform poorly at work.

I think you will find their research compelling and also interesting.

Listed below is the executive summary regarding the question---"Why do some employees perform poorly?

According to Manzoni and Barsoux:

Why do some employees perform poorly? Most managers would answer that question by ticking off a list that includes weak skills, insufficient experience, inability to prioritize assignments, and lack of motivation.  In other words, they could content that poor performance is the employee's fault.  But is it?

Not always, according to the authors. Their research with hundreds of executives strongly suggests that it is the bosses themselves--albeit unintentionally--who are frequently responsible for an employee's subpar achievement.

According to the authors, bosses and their perceived weak performers are often caught in a dynamic called the set-up-to-fail syndrome, which tends to play out as follows:  A boss begins to worry when a subordinate's performance is not satisfactory.  He then takes what seems like the obvious action by increasing the time and attention he focuses on the employee.  But rather than improve the subordinate's performance, the increased supervision has the reverse effect.  The subordinate, in perceiving the boss's lack of confidence in him, withdraws from his work and from the boss.  And the realtionship spirals downward.
What is a boss to do?  First, he must accept the possibility that his own behavior could be contributing to the problem.  Second, he must plan a careful intervention with the subordinate that takes the form of one or several candid conversations meant to untangle the unhealthy dynamics in the relationship.  The intervention is never easy, but the time and energy invested in it usually yeilds a high paycheck. 

Discussion Questions:

• Have you ever been in a job where your supervisor's actions influenced your work performance?
• Does your current supervisor recognize how his actions influence the team's work performance?
• How do you get members of your team as well as your boss to take responsibility for their actions?
• How open are you when your supervisor provides feedback regarding your work performance?
• What advice would you give to others about how to connect or reconnect with management when performance issues arise within your team?