Who Is Responsible for Poor Performance?

Who is responsible for poor performance?

The easy answer is the employee. The fashionable answer is the manager. The more honest answer begins with two questions: what was actually agreed, and what was actually measured?

Before assigning responsibility

Before holding someone responsible for poor performance, it is worth asking whether the conditions for success were clear.

• Was the purpose of the role understood?
• Had good performance been defined?
• Did the employee have the authority to act?
• Were priorities and decision boundaries clear?
• Did the manager provide the necessary information, resources and feedback?
• Was the employee given a fair opportunity to learn, improve and demonstrate what they could do?

Shared responsibility is not equal responsibility

If those conditions were present and the employee still failed to meet an understood standard, individual accountability matters. If they were absent, the manager or the wider operating system may carry much more responsibility.

Shared responsibility does not mean equal responsibility. It means diagnosing the cause before assigning blame.

Treating every performance problem as evidence of an individual failing may protect the management system from scrutiny, but it does not improve performance.

Performance begins with an agreement

Too much performance management begins with a verdict rather than an agreement. That is why I created a simple two-page working agreement for managers and employees in well-defined roles.

Managers can use it at the start of a role, after a change in priorities or before a performance conversation. It helps clarify what the role is for, which outcomes matter, what decisions the employee can make and what support the manager is responsible for providing.

Employees can use it to make expectations explicit before they are judged against them. It provides a clear record of their responsibilities, performance standards, decision rights, development needs and the measures that will show whether they are succeeding.

A practical 30-minute conversation

Complete the agreement together. Define the role's purpose and most important responsibilities, describe good performance in observable terms, and clarify priorities, decision boundaries and required support.

Then choose three practical measures to review regularly and schedule a follow-up conversation to discuss what is working and what needs to change.

The aim is not to create another form to file away. It is to establish a shared reference point for better work, earlier feedback and fairer accountability.

Download the Simple Role Clarity and Performance Agreement

The better first question

When performance is discussed, both people should be able to see what they agreed to contribute, how success was measured and what support was expected.

Perhaps the first question should not be, “Who performed poorly?”

Did we create the conditions for good performance?

This article developed from a discussion published on LinkedIn. You are welcome to join the conversation there.