Silence is also a decision, and it has a cost

I remember several times when leaders came to me with a very similar situation.

They'd tell me they had a problem with an employee.

That when he started, he was a great worker.

He arrived on time.

He did his job very well.

But over time something had changed.

First he was late once.

Then again… and he started missing days.

At first he called in.

Later only sometimes.

And little by little it became more frequent.

Until one day he didn't call at all.

And then came the conclusion:

“I think I'm going to have to let him go.”

So I'd start with the same questions.

The first:

Have you talked to him?

Sometimes the answer was yes.

But many times it was no.

The second:

Did you document it?

In Human Resources there's a golden rule:

If it isn't documented, it didn't happen.

Almost always the answer was no as well.

Then I'd ask how the conversation had gone.

And many times the answer was something like:

“I told him he's been missing a lot, that it holds up everyone's work, and that he'd better shape up or he's going to have problems.”

More than a conversation.

It was a warning.

My recommendation was usually the same:

Call him into the office.

Not to scold him.

To have a clear conversation.

Come with facts.

These are the days you were late.

Then ask him something simple:

What's going on?

How can we solve it?

Let the person be part of the solution too.

Reach an agreement.

Document it.

And move on.

If it happens again, then you look at the next step.

But first you have to do something simple:

have the uncomfortable conversation.

And the truth is, many times it isn't bad intent.

We were simply never trained to be leaders as such.

We learn along the way.

But when a conversation is avoided for too long…

the problem keeps growing.

Over time you learn that:

silence is also a decision.

Marbeel