How to Coach Underperforming Employees Well

This article was not written by Kevin Allen; I’m sharing it because I like the themes and content. Some articles and videos shared here are by Kevin Allen and explore similar themes around emotional intelligence, trust and accountability at work. Learning how to coach underperforming employees is not about delivering a tougher speech. It is about creating enough clarity, safety and momentum for a capable person to re-engage with the standard.

A missed deadline, a drop in quality or a difficult client interaction can quickly become a management problem if it is left vague. Leaders often feel caught between two unhelpful options: avoid the conversation to preserve the relationship, or come in hard to protect results. High-performing organisations choose a third option. They coach with precision, respect and a clear expectation of change.

Start with facts, not frustration

Before a manager opens the conversation, they need to separate observation from interpretation. “Three client reports were submitted after the agreed deadline” is an observable fact. “You do not care about the work” is an assumption, and a costly one.

Specific evidence gives the employee something real to respond to. It also keeps the manager grounded when emotions are running high. A coaching discussion should address the work, the impact and the expectation, rather than make a judgement about someone’s character or commitment.

For example, a manager might say: “Over the past month, two project handovers have needed substantial rework, and the client team has had to wait for final answers. That affects confidence in our delivery. I want to understand what is getting in the way and agree how we improve this.”

That is direct without being demeaning. It makes room for context while making the business impact clear.

How to coach underperforming employees with respect

Respect does not mean making the message softer than reality. It means treating the person as a thinking professional with perspective, pressures and the capacity to improve. Managers earn trust when they can hold a difficult standard without becoming defensive, vague or personal.

Begin by describing the gap between the expected result and the current result. Then ask an open question and allow enough silence for an honest answer. “What is your view of what has been happening?” is stronger than “Why are you struggling?” because it invites reflection rather than a defence.

Listen for the real cause. Performance can decline for very different reasons: unclear priorities, insufficient capability, competing workload, a breakdown in communication, confidence after a setback, changing role expectations or circumstances outside work. The answer is not always more training. A highly skilled employee with too many competing demands needs prioritisation and support, not a generic development course. Someone who understands the priority but lacks a key skill needs practice, feedback and access to expertise.

Empathy is not an exemption from accountability. It is the discipline of understanding the conditions before deciding on the right intervention. This is where emotionally intelligent leadership has commercial value. It reduces guesswork, prevents avoidable conflict and focuses time on action that can actually improve results.

Agree the standard in plain language

Broad instructions such as “be more proactive” or “raise your game” create anxiety, not accountability. Employees need to know what successful performance looks like in observable terms.

A useful performance expectation answers three questions: what needs to happen, by when, and how quality will be assessed. For a sales leader, that could mean every opportunity is updated before the weekly pipeline review, follow-up is completed within one working day, and forecast notes show a clear next step. For a people manager, it may mean one-to-ones take place as scheduled, concerns are documented promptly, and commitments are followed through.

The employee should be able to repeat the expectation back in their own words. If they cannot, the expectation is still too abstract. This small check is often more valuable than another page of process documentation.

It also helps to distinguish between outcomes and behaviours. Outcomes matter, but they can be influenced by market conditions, team dependencies or client decisions. Behaviours are more immediately coachable: preparing thoroughly, escalating risks early, asking for clarity, following the agreed process and communicating progress before a deadline is at risk.

Build a short, visible improvement plan

A good plan is specific enough to guide action and short enough to maintain energy. It should not feel like a bureaucratic punishment. It is a working agreement that protects the employee, the manager and the wider team from ambiguity.

Set a reasonable review period based on the role and issue. A daily check-in may be appropriate for an urgent operational concern, while fortnightly reviews may suit a more complex leadership or capability goal. Agree what evidence will show progress, what support will be available and when you will meet again.

Support may include clearer priorities, access to a subject matter expert, rehearsal before a client meeting, shadowing a colleague, focused skills practice or removing an unnecessary barrier. Be careful not to over-support to the point where the manager takes ownership of the employee’s work. Coaching should build capability and confidence, not dependence.

The plan must also name the employee’s responsibility. They may need to bring a draft before a deadline, flag risks by a set time, practise a key conversation or use a new workflow consistently. Accountability works best when both sides know exactly what they are committing to.

Give feedback close to the work

Waiting until an annual review to discuss a recurring issue is the corporate equivalent of discovering a leak after the ceiling comes down. Timely feedback is kinder, more useful and far less dramatic.

When improvement begins, acknowledge it specifically. “Your preparation for this week’s client call was sharper, and the decision log made it easier for the team to move quickly” reinforces the behaviour worth repeating. General praise such as “good job” is pleasant, but it does not teach much.

When progress stalls, return to the agreement without accusation. Ask what was attempted, what happened and what needs to change next. A manager who stays curious is more likely to uncover an obstacle. A manager who leaps straight to blame may get compliance in the short term, but rarely gets candour.

This does not mean every conversation should become a lengthy coaching session. Sometimes the issue is straightforward and the correction should be too. The judgement lies in knowing whether the problem is a one-off lapse, a skill gap, a motivation concern, a capacity issue or a pattern that requires formal performance management.

Know when coaching needs firmer boundaries

Coaching is appropriate when there is a credible path to improvement and the employee is willing to engage. It should be paired with firmer management when expectations have been clear, support has been offered and commitments are repeatedly not met.

Managers should be transparent about that shift. Do not imply that a conversation is informal if its outcome may affect formal employment processes. Follow organisational policy, involve HR or the appropriate people adviser when needed, and document factual discussions and agreed actions. Fairness depends on consistency, not just good intentions.

The aim is never to catch someone out. It is to give the employee a clear opportunity to succeed while protecting customers, colleagues and business standards. That balance is a mark of mature leadership.

Make the manager’s emotional intelligence visible

Employees watch how leaders behave when performance is under pressure. If a manager becomes sarcastic, avoids the issue or changes the standard midway through the conversation, trust declines quickly. If they stay composed, name the facts, listen carefully and keep commitments, the team learns that accountability is safe.

That is why coaching capability belongs at the heart of leadership development. Strong managers do more than identify gaps. They create conversations in which people can take ownership, recover confidence and deliver better work.

The next difficult performance conversation is an opportunity to demonstrate that standard. Be clear enough that the employee knows what must change, human enough to understand what is happening, and consistent enough that your support means something.