Are Your Employees Incompetent? 4 Reasons Why

Why are my employees incompetent? I’ve heard that question from a lot of over-stressed federal leaders and managers. When the fire hose is on full force and the scrutiny is increasing, having a team that can’t produce is a killer. I sympathize and I think there are at least four possible reasons why.

1. They actually are incompetent.  Or more likely, a few of them might be. The reality is that not all of your people are incompetent. It’s a minority and if you feel like everyone is, see numbers 2 and 4 on this list. But every organization has at least a few people over time who just can’t get there, no matter what you do. So here’s my advice: stop spending time on them. Identify your good people and figure out what it is they need to be successful. You have eight to 10 hours a day, and spending the bulk of that time motivating people who can make things happen is a lot more productive then spending it trying to remediate the few who will never get there.

2. You’re making them incompetent. Given the pressures from above and outside, some federal managers get overwhelmed. That leads to anxiety and anger, and most of all, blame. If I’m working hard and we still aren’t getting it done, it must be the fault of my people. There’s really nowhere else to look. But when we micromanage or manage by harsh criticism, even good people just give up. What’s the point in trying to satisfy you? You’re never satisfied. (See this blog post from Dr. Jim Goldstein.) Sometimes as a leader and manager, you need to step back to see if you’ve fallen into this trap. Pushing harder isn’t always the best approach.

3. They don’t know what to do. Even really ineffective people can make some contribution as long as they know what direction you need them to go in. Leaders spend time a lot of time with higher-ups, outside stakeholders and in various meetings. It’s hard to remember that not everyone else went to the same meetings or got the same information. When you are frustrated, ask yourself:

• Was I clear about what I’m asking for?
• Is it something people can take action on?
• Did I give them context?

4. They don’t think you’re right. This is a really dangerous situation. Sometimes your people know you need to go in a different direction than you’re taking them. When this happens, people come to the office and have to do things they know aren’t going to work because the leader is off course. The gap can really get wide here and kill an organization. Keep your antennae up and be willing to admit that you’re wrong, or you’re going to need to fire a lot of people.

What do you think? Are there more reasons? More solutions?

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