Hello, I have attached my case study to this post. Please provide me with any feedback regarding how I could have handled the situation differently. To help you also better understand the situation, I was dealing with an employee who always took a defensive stance when he was being provided feedback and always thought he was right. This interaction went better than I anticipated. Again, any feedback on what I could have done differently is greatly appreciated. Overview: I was a Lead Consultant (supervisor) at my former company. I was in charge of 10 financial consultants. My manager (Mike) was out on vacation and prior to leaving he asked me to have a coaching session with a consultant who was not meeting their metrics. I knew it would be a difficult situation because this consultant was not open to feedback and had a tendency to get combative and defensive during coaching sessions. I obliged and scheduled a meeting with the consultant Strategy: My plan for the meeting was to: 1) Inquire what is hindering the consultant from meeting his goal. 2) Ensuring the consultant had a good understanding of the scorecard/metrics 3) Coaching the consultant to better understand what the job entails and what is expected of him. The Interaction: My Thoughts (enter this second) Actual Dialogue (enter this first) Start out the meeting professionally Me: Good Morning I would like to start by explaining to you the purpose of this meeting As I expected he is already being defensive Consultant: Sure. Just know I haven't done anything wrong so I am not sure why we are having this meeting Keep calm and assure him everything is alright Me: No of course not. You have not done anything wrong as far as I am concerned. The purpose of this meeting today is to talk to you about your metrics. We are in the final quarter of the year and you are far behind your year-to-date goal. I would like to start first by asking why it is that you are not at goal year to date. Wow!! Did he really just say that? Consultant: No offense but shouldn't this be a Online November 2015 conversation I should be having with my manager. I thought your role was only to supervise us and ensure we are working on a daily basis Continue to remain calm despite his rudeness Me: Yes you are right that is my role but Mike (manager) is out on vacation and will not be returning until after the quarter is completed so he tasked me with speaking with you about your metrics and why it is you are not currently at goal. Hmmm his response to that explanation was better than I anticipated but his explanation doesn't make sense Consultant: Ok I can understand. Well to answer your question I really cannot give you an explanation why I am not currently at goal. I know that I am meeting with clients and also proactively reaching out to unengaged clients to set appointments with them but the inflows do not reflect the work I am doing behind the scenes Me: So you say that you have been meeting with clients. How many meetings have you averaged on a weekly basis so far this year? Not enough! Make him realize he is not pulling his weight OK I guess he is back to being defensive Explain to him why he needs to get more meetings with clients Consultant: I have been averaging roughly about 8 meetings weekly. I have so many other things going on that I cannot take on more than 8 meetings a week at this point Me: Are you aware the company set a goal for each consultant of a minimum of 15 meetings a week? Company research has shown that the successful consultant average approximately 18 meetings a week. Consultant: Well as I stated 8 meetings is all I can handle at this time. Me: I definitely understand that you may have a lot of other things occurring that may be taking up your time to have more meetings but you also have to Online November 2015 realize that while you are here at work we need you to be focused on the job and to strive to meet your metrics on a consistent basis. Not meeting your metrics does not only affect you, it also affects your team members as well. The company is also creating new guidelines to terminate employees who constantly lag on meeting their goals and as your supervisor and teammate I do not want to see you terminated. Now he looks concerned. Seems as though he realizes I am looking out for him and have good intentions Have to make him feel this is important and a follow up is needed Consultant: Wow I didn't know the company will begin terminating employees. I was always under the assumption those employees who do not meet their metrics would only receive a write up. I will put in more effort to have more client meetings which will result in having greater inflows of assets from external sources Me: Thank you for your understanding, If you need any assistance let me know I am here to help you in any way possible. Once Mike (manager) returns I will inform him of our discussion and I will also follow up with you in a couple of weeks. Consultant: ok sounds good Whew I am glad it is over Underlying Assumptions (based on your assessment after reflecting on your completed case) I knew the kind of personality I was dealing with. It was not going to be an easy meeting. He was defensive in some situations but I was able to overcome it and help him understand the importance of meeting his metrics. The meeting actually went better than I had expected. Online November 2015 Dealing with Defensive Employees Name Institution Dealing with Defensive Employees The underlying assumption in the case study is that the consultant's defensive personality and his poor performance. The supervisor could adjust the assumptions by focusing on the positive, desirable performance rather than the present negative results. The primary assumption should be the fact that the consultant is aware of his expected performance. Therefore, the supervisor needs to find out why the consultant cannot work towards meeting that target. Even though they come with different agendas to the meeting, the supervisor and the consultant could harmonize their differences to achieve a common good. The meeting would focus on the development of skills and motivation that would improve the consultant's productivity. The supervisor warns the consultant that the company would terminate non-productive employees. This alert threatens the consultant to change and improve his productivity. A meeting is not a forum to attack a worker, but a chance to help them improve (Sims, 2002). The assumption is to make the consultant understand the existing problem, but it should consider the consultant's side of the story. The theory of relationship management is useful in this scenario because it helps the parties to select appropriate words and conduct. Emotional and sensitive statements make employees sensitive (DelPo, 2007). A better approach in the future would involve helping the consultant to recognize the existing problem. The consultant may not have realized that his behavior and performance were lagging. Thus, the session could have also included a strategy to help the consultant move forward in terms of productivity. When the consultant acknowledges the existence of a problem, then he should be willing to look for solutions. In fact, the supervisor would ask the consultant to make suggestions on how to resolve the problem. The consultant's action plan may differ from the company's expectations, but the manager could help to maintain average standards. The SMART model is a guide to attaining goals. The model requires goals to be Specific, Achievable, Timely, Measurable, and Realistic. This model would make the consultant believe in himself. My teammates' suggestions incorporate essential skills of assertive speaking, active listening, timing, and measurable goals. They are continuous processes that contribute to successful employee performance review. Behavioral and performance problems provide a chance for development of solutions and a means to avoid similar challenges in the future (DelPo, 2007). References DelPo, A. (2007). The performance appraisal handbook. Berkeley, CA: NOLO. Sims, R. R. (2002). Managing organizational behavior. Westport CT: Greenwood Press