When you have a team member who is underperforming and avoiding contact with you, what do you do?

Our reader poll today asks: When you have a team member who is underperforming and avoiding contact with you, what do you do?

• I keep reaching out and hoping they’ll respond 46.97%
• I leave pointed messages about their need to engage 45.96%
• I threaten consequences if they don’t engage 5.56%
• I ignore the issue and hope they’ll come around 1.51%

Making the conversation happen. Virtually everyone in the survey this week responded that they don’t let it slide when they have an underperforming team member avoiding a feedback conversation. Instead they actively reach out (and sometimes very pointedly) to discuss performance and hopefully improve the situation. If you’re in the 1.5% of respondents who avoid the situation, take a hint from the other 98.5% of leaders in this poll and make the conversation happen. If someone isn’t performing well and they’re avoiding contact, they’re not going to suddenly come around and ask to discuss their performance. You’re doing them a disservice by not getting to the root of the performance issue as quickly as possible so things can be turned around before more damage is done.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 240,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.