04/11/2011 Don’t Let Unconscious Incompetence Rear Its Head

Reading, listening and watching the daily diet of economic gloom and pessimism coming out of media outlets these days and you might well be forgiven for taking a bunker-type mentality when addressing the management of people within your company.

Part of this bunker-type approach can tend to be a ducking of performance issues – not telling employees the truth about their performance for fear of rocking the boat or because you feel guilty about the pressures you are putting them under in asking them to do more with less.

Fall into this trap, however, and there’s a real danger that the notion of unconscious incompetence may rear its ugly head – a state of being where individuals are lacking particular skills or knowledge but are not aware of this deficit and don’t see the need or relevance of developing new attributes. It’s only through recognising a need to acquire new skills and knowledge that they can move onto the next stage.

The best-selling author and speaker, Marcus Buckingham put it well when he said that “as a manager your noblest, most helpful & most caring task is to tell someone the truth about their performance. It is also the hardest.”

There’s no doubt that it is hard and can occasionally be unpleasant but it is all part of being a manager in good times and in bad.

Economic doom and gloom and a bunker “we’re all in this together” mentality is no excuse for employee performance dropping. Being honest with your employees is also an essential part of looking at the long-term vision of the company and your employees’ future well being.