A few months back I was listening to business author Daniel Pink on a Masterclass lesson and he shared one of the most true, simple, and thought-provoking ideas pertaining to employees in the workplace. Pink says “I’ve always suspected that bosses put people in one of two categories: people who make my life easier and people who make my life harder”. I couldn’t agree more, and have unknowingly done exactly this myself over the years while leading around 1,000 employees at Chick-fil-A. 

To take it even a step further, I would argue that bosses think of their people on a sort of scatter plot graph (like the one pictured below). Half of the graph is above zero, in the positive, and some employees are closer or further away from zero based on how much easier they make the boss’s life. The other half is beneath zero, and again employees fall at various points further up or down in the negative realm. 

So, what exactly does this mean in terms of practical action?

For bosses:

1. Focus on your best people. This does not mean completely ignore the employees who make your job harder. But the majority of your energy (80%-ish) should go to your best people (top 20%). This will by far reap the greatest return. Trying to get someone who is say performing at -25 even up to just zero will be a full-time job for you that will take months or years. Often bosses get sucked into giving excessive energy to the lowest performers, while accidentally bypassing their best people. Flip this script, and you will reap the benefits! Pour into your top performers and they will flourish even more. 
2. Give clear feedback to underperformers. As I just mentioned, you cannot completely ignore low performers. The smart play is to give them less quantity of time and higher quality. Clear, helpful, and direct feedback must be shared regarding how their performance is lagging. This is the only tool that gives them a fair opportunity to course correct, while addressing the issues head on. “John, I have no issue answering questions for you, but you bringing me work that is only 20% complete is you asking me to do your job for you. It inhibits my ability to do my own job and doesn’t help us accomplish our organization’s objectives. Take this, get it 80% completed, and then bring it back before the end of the week and I look forward to helping you with it at that point.” Avoid being mean or aggressive, but always be direct. 
3. Fire underperformers. If someone’s performance is perpetually lagging, and you have given them clear feedback, do everyone a favor and terminate the employee. It is better for them to go somewhere that they can succeed. It is better for you as the boss. It is better for the coworkers having to pick up the person’s slack. And most importantly, it is better for the clients who are paying good money to receive professional work from your organization but are receiving a subpar return. Ask yourself: “Is this employee someone who we would collectively breathe a sigh of relief if they were no longer working here? Overall, are we honestly better off with or without this person?”. If you need to part ways with an employee but want to send them off in the most caring fashion possible, articulate to them that their performance is not up to standard, that they are no longer able to work here, but that you will give them 6 (or 4, or 8) weeks here working with you so that they can have time to find their next job. As long as they have been given a fair opportunity to improve performance, you can never part ways with a mediocre employee fast enough.

For employees:

1. Do what you say you will do. Nothing drains the energy of a boss more than having to go behind employees and address when they said they would do something and then did not do it. Set multiple reminders, double check behind yourself, or take any other needed measures to ensure that you do exactly what you say you will do. This is a foundational aspect of being a valuable employee, similar to showing up on time. Articulate what you will do, and then simply do it 100% of the time, and do it with quality. 
2. Do your job. This one sounds the same as #1, but doing your job covers a larger surface area. What are you responsible for? What is everyone else expecting you to do week in week out? What is your area of ownership? Ensure that you consistently have your T’s crossed and your I’s dotted. Don’t do the fifth most important thing before handling the most important thing. It can be helpful to give quick updates to the boss so that they know that you have done your job. “Hey, I updated the volunteer database and will send out our messaging to everyone in it by tomorrow at 5:00. I feel great about it and it’s much better than it was before!”. Don’t inundate the boss with information, but keeping others in the loop goes a long way so that bosses and coworkers know that your area is buttoned up.
3. Notice and eliminate pain points. What are the things that are most weighing the boss down? What things drain their energy and they hate doing them? Pay attention and volunteer to help alleviate those tasks from the person in charge! It can be easy to think that the boss gets paid the big bucks to deal with extra strain. While there is some truth to this, be someone who makes the boss’s life easier by removing some of the difficulty that is weighing the person down.

Easier or harder?

As a boss, are the majority of your employees making your life easier or harder? If harder, you need to reexamine how you hire, as well as how you develop your people. Is there even one person on your team who is weighing you down? Take action. For expert tools that aid in all aspects of people processes for organizations, check out my Talent Toolbox! 

As an employee, are you making the boss’s life easier or harder, and to what extent? Everyone wins when it is the former, and no one (including you) wins when it’s the latter. Do what you say you will, do your job 100%, and identify ways to alleviate pressure from the boss. For expert tools to grow you as a person and employee, check out my Recorded Young Professional Cohort Development Sessions!