How to Lead an Underperforming Team By Mark Wager

How to Lead an Underperforming Team

By Mark Wager

As a Leadership coach, one of the most frequent concerns I hear from managers is about how to turn around an underperforming team. Whether it’s due to missed targets, low morale, or a lack of accountability, leaders are often left feeling frustrated and unsure of how to reverse the situation. Underperformance in a team is a challenge every leader will face at some point, and it can feel overwhelming when your team is not delivering as expected.

However, the good news is that poor performance is not a permanent condition. With the right approach, any team can be transformed into a high-performing, engaged group of individuals. I’ve worked with countless leaders across various industries, and time and time again, the same key strategies have proven effective. In this article, I will share with you these strategies and insights, which can help you as a leader understand not just how to manage an underperforming team but how to lead them towards success.

Whether you are a seasoned leader or someone new to the role, this guide will provide you with practical steps that you can implement immediately to create a lasting impact on your team’s performance.

Reflection

The honest truth about poor-performing teams may not be what you want to hear, but it’s certainly what you need to hear: the number one reason teams perform poorly is due to leadership. The only exception is if you’ve recently inherited the team; otherwise, if you’ve been in charge for more than a few months, you must recognise that the team’s performance is a reflection of your leadership.

Great leadership begins with self-reflection. Ask yourself what you are doing that might be encouraging or allowing the team’s poor performance. Are you rewarding good performance? Are you coaching and guiding those who are underperforming? Leadership starts with accountability, and the first step in improving team performance is looking inward and making adjustments to your own actions.

Clarity

One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is assuming that what is clear to them is equally clear to their team. In reality, what may seem obvious to you may be completely misunderstood by others. A leader’s role is to provide clarity in every aspect of work, so that each team member knows exactly what is expected of them.

It’s crucial to clearly define success and performance standards. Most poor performers don’t even realise they are performing badly. They often believe they are meeting expectations, and that the leader’s standards are too high or unrealistic. Therefore, as a leader, it’s your responsibility to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Define what good performance looks like in clear, measurable terms, and communicate it so there is no room for confusion.

High Expectations

Improving team performance starts with raising the standards. If you want your team to do better, you must raise the bar in every area of their work. This doesn’t just mean focusing on major tasks; it includes attention to detail in every small action and behaviour. Success is a habit, and how someone approaches small tasks often reflects their overall approach to larger ones.

A team that comes to work late, dresses inappropriately, and maintains a messy workspace is demonstrating low standards in all areas. As a leader, you need to set high expectations not just for their key responsibilities but for everything they do. By making high standards the norm, rather than the exception, you will see a transformation in overall performance.

Hire Slowly, Fire Quickly

One of the best ways to ensure high performance is to surround yourself with capable people. A large portion of a leader’s headaches often comes from poor hiring decisions. If you settle for average candidates during recruitment, chances are they will remain average—or even become worse—over time.

Hiring should be a careful process, and you should never settle for mediocrity just to fill a position. On the flip side, if someone on your team is clearly underperforming and isn’t responding to coaching or development efforts, you need to let them go quickly. Keeping a poor performer on board drags down the entire team and harms morale. Fire quickly, but always with respect and empathy. It’s not good for anyone to be in a role where they are constantly failing.

Courage

Leadership is not about popularity; it’s about doing what is right, even when it’s difficult. You might want your team to like you and to avoid confrontation, but at what cost? When a team is underperforming, difficult conversations are necessary. A strong leader must have the courage to tell people what they need to hear, not just what they want to hear.

The needs of the team must always come before the desires of individuals. If someone is holding the team back, you must address it, regardless of how uncomfortable it may be. The role of a leader is to focus on the success of the team as a whole, and that requires making tough decisions.

Action

Finally, leadership is not just about reflection and planning—it’s about action. To manage an underperforming team, you must take decisive steps to turn things around. Lead by example. Your team will not work harder than you do, so set the tone with your work ethic, attitude, and commitment.

It’s essential to reward good performance just as much as you address poor performance. Positive reinforcement can be as simple as a thank you or as significant as a bonus. The key is to ensure that your team feels recognised and appreciated for their efforts.

Remember, leading an underperforming team is not easy, but it’s equally challenging for the individuals on the team. No one comes to work wanting to fail. People want to do a good job—they just need the right leadership to show them how. When you show your team the way forward, they will follow.

If you’re a manager in Fiji and are facing the challenge of leading an underperforming team, now is the time to take action. I will be visiting Fiji in November 2024, and I’m offering tailored leadership training for teams that need to turn things around. Whether your organisation is small or large, I can provide the practical tools and strategies your team needs to perform at its best.

If you’re interested in learning more about how I can help your team, contact me today to discuss your leadership needs and book a session. Together, we can transform your team’s performance and create lasting success.