Young: Leaders must timebox underperformance with clear expectations and a 3-month deadline
Tracy Young · Tracy Young on Scaling PlanGrid to 400+ People with YC Partner Kat Manalac · Y Combinator · Jun 12, 2019 · at 18:43
Tracy Young, co-founder and former CEO of PlanGrid, shares her framework for handling underperforming employees fairly without blindsiding them.
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“So I would say the moment that we figure out someone isn't working out, time box it. It's like, oh, but there's always some excuse, right? You know, but I just don't have time. They're like pretty good. They're performing. It's like net, net. Is it positive or negative? It's, you know. If it's negative, they need to be out of there, and time box it. We're gonna, you know, let them know this isn't working out, and you say some words like, this is the expectations for this role. You're not meeting the expectations. I think this is what you need to do to fix it. If you don't do this, I will have to ask you to leave in three months from now. And that is the most, that is what you owe your team member.”
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