管理难题：遭遇力不从心的“好员工”

    问题如何解决？并没有固定的模式。但是我们可以提供几条建议。

    首先，经理人要明确自己和团队的预期目标。确保每个成员都参与目标的制定过程，并以实现目标为己任。否则，管理层最终采取的任何行动都将被认为是专断独行、甚至是不公平的。

    确定了目标，就要与团队共同明确每个人在实现目标的过程中需要扮演的角色。另外，经理人也要与团队讨论作为管理者需要做出哪些改进。这样一来，才能确保自己不会成为那个表现还不错但又不够好的人。

    给每个员工提供接受挑战的机会。为他们提供培训和辅导的机会，给他们充足的时间和关注。当然，最重要的是，给他们提供必要的反馈，帮助他们不断提高。

    如果开始感觉到团队中有员工可能无法达到预期目标，这时，经理人需要与该员工继续共同努力，但是同时也应该与公司的人力资源部门讨论一下这个问题。我们在此提供几建议，供大家参考。

    通过定期向有问题的员工提供反馈，确保该员工对自己的现状有一个明确的认识。毕竟，员工有权知道自己的现状，以及可能面临的后果。

    一旦经理人确定某个员工无法达到预期目标，可以尝试在团队或公司的其他部门为其寻找一个合适的职位。根据该员工的能力、缺点和潜力，重新为她安排职位。但是，千万不要在公司的需求方面有所妥协。

    最重要的是，在这个艰难的过程中，要给予员工充分的尊重，这样做有益无害。相反，如果一味贬低员工以求心安，比如有事没事找茬，实际上可能根本于事无补。

    请注意，无论经理人怎么做，他的最终决定——留下或开除问题员工——在一定程度上都取决于个人的判断。如果皮特•贝斯特仍然留在甲壳虫乐队，没有林戈•斯塔尔的加盟，甲壳虫乐队是否还能声名大燥呢？答案不得而知。

    面对这样的难题，许多经理人选择了逃避，比如根本不做任何决定，或永久性地搁置问题。但是，如果经理人希望自己和团队能更上一层楼，就必须做出决定。这将是作为经理人面临的最艰难的抉择之一，纵使夜不能寐，也无法逃避。

    本文作者：Linda A. Hill，哈佛商学院（Harvard Business School）教授；Kent Lineback，作家，拥有30年丰富的管理经验。《做个真正的经理人：成为伟大领导者必须具备的三个特质》（Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader）一书由二人合著。

    翻译：乔树静/汪皓

    There's no formula for how to proceed, but we can offer some guidelines.

    Start by being as clear as possible about where you and your group want to go. Make sure everyone is part of that decision and is committed to it. Otherwise, any actions you eventually take will appear arbitrary and even unfair.

    Given the goals you've set, work with your team to identify their roles in making the change. Discuss with the group about how you may need to change as well. Make sure you're not the one who's good but not good enough.

    Give everyone the opportunity to rise to the challenge. Give them the training, coaching, time, attention, and, most of all, the feedback they need to improve.

    If and when you begin to sense that someone may not make it, keep working with that person, but it's also a good idea to start to talk to your company's HR department about the issue. There are policies and practices that you will likely need to follow.

    Make sure the person in question knows where she stands by giving them regular feedback. She deserves to know not only where she stands but also what's at stake.

    Once you decide someone won't make it, try to find another position that will work for that person, either in your group or elsewhere in the organization. Consider re-assigning roles and responsibilities to recognize her strengths, weaknesses, and potential. But don't compromise on what you need.

    Above all: throughout this difficult process, it only pays to treat people with dignity and respect. It doesn't help matters if you try to make yourself feel better by demonizing someone -- that is, by finding fault with everything that person does to justify what you must do.

    Be aware that, no matter what you do, your final decision -- to keep this person on or fire them -- will always be a judgment call to some degree. Could the Beatles have become stars with Pete Best instead of Ringo Starr? Who knows?

    Many managers duck the whole difficult issue by making no decision at all or by putting it off forever. However, if you and your group aspire to be more than you currently are, it's a call you will have to make. It's one of the most difficult choices you will face, one that will keep you awake at night, but you cannot avoid it.

    Linda A. Hill, a professor at Harvard Business School, and Kent Lineback, a writer with 30 years of management experience, are co-authors of Being the Boss: The 3 Imperatives for Becoming a Great Leader.