Last week, our team were discussing effective leadership in technical teams, and our conversation touched upon a topic of performance management by junior managers. Specifically, we were sharing our own first experiences of dealing with underperformance and the lessons learned over the years.
The main conclusion was that most junior managers do all they can to avoid the performance management process, trying to cover their underperforming peers even if it adds to their workload and stress levels. The result, of course, is an inevitable albeit delayed, decline in performance and motivation of the entire team, risk of project failure, as well as stress and potential burnout of the new manager.
So, why are new managers so hesitant to enter into a process which might result in issuing a termination notice? We have outlined some key reasons:
A Dynamics Shift. Stepping into a management role often means inheriting a team with established dynamics. If the promotion is a natural progression from an Individual Contributor (IC) role, the dynamics is made even harder, because now the new manager is expected to lead and manage their equals and in many cases, friends.
Skillset Shift. For software developers, the leap to management requires a completely different set of skills to coding. In contrast to solving problems with relatively clear requirements and unambiguous feedback you get from computer programs, guiding and motivating a team of individuals brings with it a lot of ambiguity and messy, human kind of complexity.
Also, chances are, new managers have not witnessed or participated in performance management processes before. This unfamiliarity can lead to uncertainty around legalities, best practices for constructive criticism, and initiating termination — and that requires another, additional, set of skills.
Workload Increase. Then there is a sheer increase in responsibilities — instead of laser-focusing on individual tasks, new technical managers must develop operational and strategic skills, keeping an eye on the project’s overall narrative and resource allocation, building relationships and authority with stakeholders, while still being present with their team.
The fear of losing their technical edge is very real too, because as we all know, being a leader is not a job title that is given to you on promotion, but a status you have to earn, and to earn it in technical teams, you must have serious technical prowess.
It is not surprising then, that new managers, when facing these additional responsibilities that come with a promotion, simply aren’t prepared to add more work to their plate by entering into a performance management process, hoping that things will improve and the problem will go away eventually. Unfortunately, hope is not a strategy.
The Benevolent Leader Burden. Direct confrontation is uncomfortable, period. Additionally, the UK workplaces often value a more diplomatic approach. Even globally, the amount of attention that has been given to benevolent leadership styles and empathy in recent years (for all good reasons!) is so vast, that effective conflict resolution and performance management are often simply overlooked in new manager training, because either we strongly believe that being nice can only ever lead to good results, or because frankly, nobody wants to even imagine being “that difficult person”.
Please don’t misunderstand — empathy is a wonderful and necessary trait, but it can also lead to hesitation when delivering critical feedback. New managers may worry about causing distress and question whether termination is the only option, and eager to establish themselves as approachable leaders, might shy away from delivering critical feedback that could potentially sour team relationships.
The Cost of Silence
Avoiding these crucial conversations can have a detrimental impact on the team, the company and the new manager.
When poor performance goes unchecked, it can demotivate colleagues who are putting in the hard graft. If an underperforming employee is not addressed, a sense of grievance can build within the team towards both the manager and the underperforming colleague. Moreover, failing to address shortcomings means missing the chance to help the employee improve and potentially become a valuable asset.
There is also acost to the industry as a whole — we lose technical leaders with a lot of potential. Many eager engineers, after dipping their toes into management, swiftly revert back to individual contributor roles or go freelancing. We think that with the understanding of the challenges they go through in these initial stages of their new roles and with the right support, many of them would stay on to become excellent leaders that our industry needs so much.
Empowering New Managers for Success
How can businesses cultivate confident managers who are equipped to navigate performance issues effectively? We suggest a few strategies:
Mentoring. is a helpful approach in many situations and performance management is not an exception — pairing new managers with experienced mentors who can provide guidance and support is an extremely effective approach.
Effective Leadership and Performance Management Masterclasses. Investing in comprehensive training on delivering feedback, conducting appraisals, and handling terminations ensures managers understand best practices and legal frameworks.
This is often overlooked, but providing training on effective leadership pays huge dividends. Effective leadership is so much more than being nice — it’s important to understand different leadership styles, the impact of Emotional Intelligence in driving results— which is much harder to master than many think, and many other factors that contribute to or work against high performance in teams.
Policy Power. Ensuring that the company policies and procedures for addressing performance issues are clear to everyone helps provide a roadmap for action. All managers should have a direct line and build relationships with HR, just like they do with other business stakeholders. This helps navigate difficult performance situations in a skilful and less stressful manner, and can also protect new managers from risk.
Remember, dismissal should always be a last resort. However, a willingness to manage performance effectively, even when it is challenging, is a critical skill for any manager.
I would like to finish this post with a simple but powerful message — Everyone has a duty to show up and put their best effort into their work. Ensuring good performance is not just a manager’s responsibility. When poor performers don’t respond to best intention and management practice, terminating the relationship is not a reflection of a junior manager’s weakness, it’s a reflection of their strength and demonstrates their care for the rest of their team, who want to work, be positively challenged and deliver results. New managers should be told this much more often than they are.
What are your top tips for overcoming the fear of performance management? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
