Sample performance improvement plan for poor leadership

It’s important to address any performance issues promptly, but addressing poor leadership is arguably one of the most important issues to address. Underperforming leaders create underperforming employees, which hurts the bottom line of your business. They also create disengaged or unhappy employees, potentially leading to turnover issues down the road.

Performance improvement plans are one tool for improving employee performance issues such as poor leadership. These plans can be used to get struggling leaders back on track by setting clear expectations and providing the tools that they need to improve their leadership skills.

Explore our performance improvement plan examples to see how you can use performance plans to address poor leadership. You can also check out our performance improvement plan employer guide to learn more about the key components of a performance improvement plan and access a blank performance improvement plan template.

What is a performance improvement plan?

A performance improvement plan (PIP) is a performance action plan that is created to address poor performance including poor leadership, negative attitudes, low productivity, or other common workplace issues. It provides a clear description of the performance issues that need to be addressed and how those issues are currently impacting the business or the employee’s coworkers or direct reports. The plan provides measurable objectives that the employee will need to work towards throughout the duration of the plan.

The employee performance improvement plan is often created after informal coaching or warnings have not been successful. It is commonly a last resort before termination, or in the case of poor leadership, sometimes demotion to a non-managerial role. It is a formal and serious process, but it should still be approached with a collaborative and supportive tone. The employee being placed on a performance improvement plan should be allowed to contribute to the discussion regarding their goals and the resources that they will need in order to reach those goals.

When using a performance improvement plan to address poor leadership, the manager overseeing the process must be mindful of their duty to model good leadership skills. They should conduct regular check-ins to check on the employee’s progress. These check-ins are great opportunities for them to demonstrate how to communicate clearly, lead a performance management discussion, and be a positive, supportive leader.

Sample performance improvement plan for poor leadership communication

Employee Name: Edward Sullivan

Employee Title: Marketing Department Leader

Direct Manager: Alisha Washington

This performance improvement plan is intended to help Edward Sullivan improve his leadership skills and work performance.

Areas of Concern

During Mr. Sullivan’s last performance review, we discussed the need for him to improve his leadership skills in order to boost employee satisfaction and productivity in his department. In the recent employee survey, only 32% of his team felt that he was responsive to their needs, and only 21% felt that he clearly communicated performance expectations. We are putting this plan in place to help Mr. Sullivan grow his leadership skills with a focus on good leadership communication so that he can better support his staff.

Performance Improvement Goals

Enroll in assigned leadership communication skills courses and demonstrate proficiency by earning a certificate of completion.

Improve team communication skills by implementing and hosting weekly department meetings. Document these meetings by creating an organized agenda and taking meeting notes.

Improve employee satisfaction in the department by at least 15% as measured by the next quarterly employee survey.

Resources

Mr. Sullivan will be enrolled in a series of leadership development and communication courses on the company’s e-learning platform. He is to complete all of the assigned courses by the set deadlines.

Performance Plan Duration

This performance improvement plan will be in place for an initial time frame of 60 days. It is subject to extension for an additional 30 days if goals can not be completed satisfactorily in the initial 60-day period.

Key Milestones

Milestone: Complete Introductory Leadership Communication Training.
Deadline: February 10, 2023
Outcome:

Complete 30-day performance check-in.
Deadline: February 15, 2023
Outcome:

Milestone: Complete remaining assigned courses.
Deadline: March 20, 2023
Outcome:

Milestone: Complete 30-day performance check-in.
Deadline: March 15, 2023
Outcome:

Acknowledgment

I understand that failure to comply with the set employee performance plan may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Employee Name: Edward Sullivan
Employee Signature:

Manager Name: Alisha Washington
Manager Signature:

Sample Performance Improvement Plan for General Poor Leadership

Employee Name: Janet Michaels

Employee Title: Finance Manager

Direct Manager: Elena Rodriguez

This performance improvement plan is intended to help Janet Michaels build her leadership skills in order to excel in her role as a Finance Manager.

Areas of Concern

Since Mrs. Michaels has taken over the department, her team has frequently been missing deadlines. Other leaders in the company have also noticed finance employees coming in late and appearing to be off task frequently. These concerns have been documented and brought to Janet, but proper action has not been taken to correct these issues. Employees have reported that deadlines are not properly communicated to them, they are not being provided the support they need to do their work, and tasks aren’t being assigned consistently.

This performance improvement plan is designed to help Mrs. Michaels better oversee her staff, monitor workloads, and lead her department. She will also need to learn how to better engage in coaching with her subordinates to help them meet deadlines and become more punctual and productive.

Performance Improvement Goals

Increase department productivity by 15% over the previous quarter.

Learn to exhibit strong leadership skills through the use of proper leadership communication, delegation, and employee coaching.

Institute a more effective workload management system with more transparency through the use of a selected project management tool.

Meet all department deadlines by exercising good personal time management, coaching staff on time management, and having proactive conversations with direct reports on deadline expectations and workloads.

Resources

The employee will be provided with e-learning courses to complete on time management, delegation, and leadership.

Performance Plan Duration

The performance improvement plan will be in place for 90 days. Progress check-ins and evaluations will occur at the 30, 60, and 90-day marks.

Acknowledgment

I understand that failure to comply with the set employee performance plan may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Employee Name: Janet Michaels
Employee Signature:

Manager Name: Elena Rodriguez
Manager Signature:

Sample Performance Improvement Plan for Poor Leadership: Failure to Meet Department Objections

Employee Name: Gerald Beekman

Employee Title: Sales Manager

Direct Manager: Amanda Chavez

This performance improvement plan is intended to help Gerald Beekman improve their work performance in the area of department leadership. This plan is designed to support Mr. Beekman’s leadership skills development to help him lead his department to success in the next quarter.

Areas of Concern

Mr. Beekman’s team has failed to meet individual and department goals for two consecutive quarters. Approximately 67% of his team failed to meet their individual goals, leading to an overall failure of the department to meet its quarterly department goals. After several conversations with Mr. Beekman and his employees as well as management observation of the department’s conduct, it has been determined that Mr. Beekman’s poor leadership is a major contributor to the team’s failure to meet expectations.

Performance Improvement Goals

Increase department-wide sales by 20% over the prior quarter.

Increase personal sales by 30% to meet personal quarterly sales quota.

Conduct performance check-ins with each subordinate twice throughout PIP period to support their individual goals and the larger department goals.

Resources

The employee will be paired with a leadership mentor to help him develop his leadership skills and navigate any questions or challenges that arise throughout the performance improvement plan period.

The employee will complete a leadership development course.

The employee will re-review company sales and leadership training materials to understand expectations and best practices going forward.

Performance Plan Duration

The performance improvement plan will be in place for 90 days commencing on March 1, 2023. Failure to successfully complete this plan may result in removal from a leadership role in the form of a demotion.

Key Milestones

Milestone: Initial meeting with leadership mentor
Deadline: March 8, 2023
Outcome:

Milestone: Completion of sales leadership training
Deadline: March 30, 2023
Outcome:

Milestone: 30-day check-in
Deadline: April 1, 2023
Outcome:

Milestone: Complete performance check-ins with all direct reports
Deadline: April 1, 2023
Outcome:

Milestone: 60-day check-in
Deadline: May 1, 2023
Outcome:

Milestone: Complete second performance check-in with direct reports
Deadline: May 15, 2023
Outcome:

Milestone: 90-day check-in
Deadline: June 1, 2023
Outcome:

Acknowledgment

I understand that failure to comply with the set employee performance plan may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Employee Name: Gerald Beekman
Employee Signature:

Manager Name: Amanda Chavez
Manager Signature:

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