September 11, 2007
‘My star employee and her incompetent husband’
I run a media organisation of 50 people, two of whom got married last year. They could not be more different: she is a star, without question the most talented person in the company, while her husband (who on paper is senior to her) is neither hardworking nor capable, and hides this in a bad attitude that he seems to think is humorous. In the last appraisal I told him that unless he changed his tune and pulled his weight I would demote him. He was very indignant, as expected. However his wife has hit the roof too, weighing in on his side. She has told me that I wasn’t giving him the chance he deserved to show his talents. I backed down, but the problem hasn’t gone away. It seems that either I put up with an incompetent senior staff member who is alienating other members of staff, or I risk losing my star. Is there anything I can do to make it better?
MD, male, 42
Have a re-organisation. Make the husband redundant and promote the wife.
Posted by: Ironybrew, 57, Retired, Male | September 11th, 2007 at 7:47 pm | Report this commentYou have three issues here (recognize these first): (1) dependency on a bright star, (2) an under-performing senior manager (attitudes are the hardest to change) and (3) the fact that both are married and working in the same organisation (normally this would not be a problem).
Firstly, you need to start weaning yourself off your dependency on the bright star. This will take time and is always difficult in a small organisation, but you have no choice because of the relationship between the bright star and the underperformer. As soon as the bright star sees that she is not the only capable person, she will also be more easier to work with. And you will feel less trapped.
Secondly, I would place the senior manager on a transparent measurable development path and be prepared to place some effort in training/mentoring/coaching him. Does he have a clear job spec with measurable targets..! But do this transparently with his wife present as well. Normally one would never do this, but either you have transparency upfront or you will face a lot of confusion later on. At this stage I would definitely not give any additional incentives - these are always reserved for people who wish to exceed performance, not merely meet them.
Thirdly, you must feel confident that at some future time you can still rely on professional judgement and work from the husband and the wife - or you risk being being in an awkward situation yet again.
Fourthly, if matters still do not improve within the next three months, then you should let go of the senior manager. His wife will probably not follow. It’s hard for both husband and wife to be out of a job at the same time. However she may start looking elsewhere or stir up other employees. You can prepare for this by (a) training/mentoring up other people in the team, (b) reconsider how you share responsibilities amongst key people and (c) start establishing clear professional codes of conduct (keep the marriage at home, when in the office and focus on performance measures rather than emotional or non-measurable aspects of performance or just plain hearsay).
Good luck and let me know how it goes (Google my name..!).
Posted by: Kunjan Chauhan | September 11th, 2007 at 7:54 pm | Report this commentThis is a tough one. If possible, you could promote the star and demote the under-performer, making the star the supervisor of the under-performer. Then she’ll have to deal with his attitude. Depending on their job functions this may not be possible.
You probably will have a tough decision to make. The cost of keeping the star is keeping the underperformer. Is this a price you’re willing to pay? If it is, then keep the under-performer, if it is not, then get rid of the under-performer and expect to lose the star.
I don’t envy you this choice.
Posted by: z | September 11th, 2007 at 10:03 pm | Report this commentIn showing a lack of objectivity - and in the first place, having married a sub-standard performer - the so-called star performer has demonstrated a failure of professional judgement. I would ask if you are really sure this person is a star?
In ‘hitting the roof’ on his behalf, she further shows her inability to see evidence objectively. Are you sure this person would be capable of handling additional responsibilities if she stays with your firm and grows?
I would deal with the husband in isolation from the wife, and if necessary, fire him. If the ’star’ goes, well, too bad. If she stays, you may not really get the best out of her. Having at home an unemployed husband with a bad attitude will also affect her performance.
Thanks.
Posted by: Shefaly | September 12th, 2007 at 10:30 am | Report this commentGlad i’m not Shefaly’s partner. Fancy marrying a “sub-standard performer”!
I’m sure this chap has many qualities ex- workplace. Do you not think these counted in the marriage decision? Or do we only date people who can advance our career these days?
Posted by: Rick | September 12th, 2007 at 11:57 am | Report this commentYou have made an assumption that removing the underperformer will result in the star leaving and therefore you are now focusing on this issue rather than the real problem, the underperformer.
By treating this situation as you would any other, by leaving the married issue aside, you will achieve the best result for all. Firstly, put the underperfomer on notice with clear goal setting, if that fails to work demote him with a second warning and finally if that fails to spur him on, then its time to wave goodbye.
If the Star is that good then promote her on her husbands demotion (if it comes to that).
If one or both choose to leave then so be it. You cannot base a 50 person company on one person, thats just bad business.
Posted by: Mr T | September 12th, 2007 at 12:28 pm | Report this commentDivide and rule and then put in the sting.
Posted by: Machiavelli | September 12th, 2007 at 12:57 pm | Report this commentDemote him and put him on an assessment programme.
Promote her and give her bonuses measured by performance.
Having done that then make him responsible to her for his performance and therefore her bonuses.
Then there might just be a bit of professionalism creep into the working relationship.
What they do about it outside the workplace is their problem!
Why had you not tackled the lazy, less than brilliant, individual about his lack of performance before he married your “star”? Why is someone like that in a senior position anyhow?
Posted by: John | September 12th, 2007 at 1:22 pm | Report this commentOnce you’ve answered these, what to do next may become obvious.
This is a complex situation, which can teach one valuable insight. Demote, fire or more generally penalize underperformance and by the spell of conventional wisdom the problem is solved. I doubt that such a strategy will work, apart from the fact that it will make one feel good for a short period of time. Do I intend to show weakness? If yes, then I try penalties and rewards. If I was striving to be a good manager, I would try to understand the underperforming employee and the reasons for underperformance. If I can, I will work with the employee and help overcome one’s shortcomings, unwilligness or inability to perform. I will help, but as much as possible without penalties and incentives. If I can make the employee a star performer, then I am a good manager. If I am unable to achieve such an outcome then I would highly reconsider my managerial position among the “stars”. Am I a leech tapping into the success of a star, or am I the breeder of the success.
Working with people is an art, which cannot be reduced to a set of simple rules applied indiscriminately. After all human beings are not elegant mathematical formulas. If I needed such employees, I may as well use machines, which tend to be cheaper, more predictable and easier to work with.
But where do we start? There is a claim that the problem employee has a negative attitude. Such an observation is probably correct. Yet, I cannot help but notice that reducing the employee to an irreparable individual is an equally negative attitude and a narrow-minded position. Anthropoligists claim that reality is what you believe in, not necessarily what you see and sense. If we take only for a moment their view and assume that the employee is labeled as incompetent, then the employee becomes incompetent. There we are in an imaginary, yet real, deadlock to start with. So firstly I will change my own attitude to this employee. The rest, will follow.
Finding the most optimal strategy in a situation complicated by marriage is task by far surpassing a crude textbook approach, but its complexity is perhaps teaching us something and preventing us from taking over the shelf prescription medicine and applying it to a problem we do not even care to understand. I would look beyond the professional aspects of performance to understand the issue and then solve the problem. The complications presented by the marrital situation perhaps give some clues on what to look at.
Hopefully these views help.
Posted by: Phaedrus | September 12th, 2007 at 4:33 pm | Report this commentYou just noticed he was an underachiever? If they have only been married a year, did his attitude start after this or was it noticeable before they got married? How can he be her boss and be incompetent? When did he start to become incompetent? There is just not enough information in that paragraph to give a good diagnosis. But, here is what I suggest:
Are you making an assumption about the star leaving? Not all couples go job to job together. Threats are not actions. But, the fact that she is upset shows you that she is the leader of the two. If his attitude as bad before they got married, it shows a bit about their relationship. Maybe it is her you need to talk with about his attitude. That is not always a good idea, but in this situation, she seems the alpha dog, both as a star of your company, and as a star in the marriage. Use it to your advantage.
Your comment of “if he doesn’t change his tune. . ” Sounds like both of you have a few classes to go to. A combatant attitude from a manager rarely gets good results. It can become warfare instead of constructive managing. I suggest better management skills on how to talk like a manager. Managers need training to be effective, especially in situations like this.
If your company provides (which most do) you could have suggested classes and seminars for him to attend to improve his attitude. You could suggest counseling. If an attitude of an employee is unacceptable, there are options besides saying “change your tune or else”. Also, suggesting counseling instead of demoting can be a big impact on someone. To point out that his attitude is affecting his coworkers (is it? Or is just you?) and affecting his productivity, then he has to face that it is his problem to solve.
So, work with the wife if possible. Offer counseling on his “attitude” with a deadline, and talk the talk of management, not warfare. Make it his problem to solve, the solution is his to find.
If you give this employee options, counseling and a deadline, they will either improve, or give you a justification to demote or remove him that even his wife/star could not object to.
Posted by: CynSW | September 13th, 2007 at 5:43 pm | Report this commentIn China, the relationship is the most important issue. Also most people meet their spouses in the work place or University and thus this situation often occurs.
The way this is dealt with is the under-performer keeps his title, and pay status but is transfered to a department or duties that can not do the company much damage. Perhaps old customer entertainment, (dining and drinking).
Promoting the wife to a level the same or higher than the husband could cause her to quit, as the relationship could not take the loss of face of the Husband not earning more than the wife.
If you fire the husband without a signficant mistake on his part, the wife will likely leave as well. If she is a star, she’ll be able to find another job easily and may have head hunters after her. In addition one of the reasons she may still work at your company is because the husband works there. If you want to keep the relationships harmonious, transfer the husband to a job that he can not mess up easily.
Good luck.
Posted by: NanjingSimon | September 14th, 2007 at 3:38 am | Report this commentFire him. There is nothing worse in an organisation than people dragging others down. It’s bad for morale, it saps energy from everyone, and bleeds companies of dynamism. I have more than once not done this for fear of getting rid of popular (but incompetent) people. It was a mistake on each occasion. If she walks out sobeit - a star culture is not what you need. I bet your other 49 (well 48 once he is gone…) employees are more important than she is. And if not, you have tremendous risk in being too reliant on her anyway.
Posted by: Gaijin | September 14th, 2007 at 5:42 am | Report this commentPROBLEMS: #1 Incompetent employee who gets promoted anyway, and is smug because he knows the MD is only bluffing. #2 Able subordinate who can cow, and overturn decisions by, the MD. #3 MD who promotes the incompetent, points a gun but hasn’t the courage to fire, and allows subordinates to overrule him.
SOLUTION: [I] Sack #1. [II] Be firm with #2. [III] Have #3 demonstrate competence and courage, or sack him.
Posted by: H K Livingston, investment banker, 25 | September 19th, 2007 at 2:21 pm | Report this commentBecause you backed down (a very major error) your only solution is to remove them both.
Posted by: Peter lawlor | September 20th, 2007 at 4:57 am | Report this commentPromote the wife so that she is senior to the husband and he in some way becomes accountable to her. Tough situation for the wife but if she is a star…
Posted by: The Other Tom | September 20th, 2007 at 10:22 am | Report this comment@ Rick:
“Glad I’m not Shefaly’s partner. Fancy marrying a “sub-standard performer”!”
Ignoring the needless personal swipe in your note, in many workplaces, spouses are key criteria for people being invited to join the executive or partnership ranks. So yes, whom you marry *is* important to your career.
That does not automatically imply that the causal vector applies in the other direction. In plain English, it is not essential that we all marry someone just to further our careers.
The star performer’s failure of judgement is in first choosing to marry someone from one’s office, and then compounded by the fact that he is the “loser de ville”.
Whether we like it or not, in workplace contexts, people will use all available information - this does not include what they may have to imagine about her spouse’s wonderful ex-workplace qualities - to draw conclusions about our judgement.
The wife is already suffering the outcome of such judgement and by defending him, she has made her situation worse.
Thanks.
Posted by: Shefaly | September 20th, 2007 at 11:14 am | Report this commentSpouses are not “key” criteria for people being invited to join executive or partnership ranks. The people who make such invitations are generally wise enough to realise that people marry for reasons unrelated to work performance. It is however often difficult for married couples to work within the same organisation, for their own wellbeing as much as for the organisation’s health. This married couple acting as a team within a team at work is destructive but you appear to have let them do so. In these circumstances you have little choice but to take corrective action. Unfortunately the obvious action might now be deemed illegal.
Posted by: Ironybrew, 57, Male, Retired | September 21st, 2007 at 11:35 pm | Report this commentIf you have allowed this situation to develop, it is probable that others in your organisation have also been allowed to remain in positions to which they are not suited. You need to review all areas of your business that could be improved with existing employees doing different jobs, quite possibly for different employers. Having done so, ensure that your redundancy policy is reasonably generous, consider the best interests of your company and re-organise “to improve competitiveness”, in as decisive a manner as you can muster. The husband’s previous refusal to consider another position with your company is a sound reason for not offering an alternative role and the promotion of your “star performer” would be expected and logical. If she leaves, she leaves.
Work is work, marriage isn’t. You should make your decision based upon the performance of your executive. If this involves sacking him one of two things will happen: 1) The star stays and takes his job, both your reputation and hers will be enhanced within the company for cutting the dead wood and improving your corporate strength. Your team now sees that poor performance will not be tolerated and people who excel will be promoted. 2) The star leaves, your reputation still improves. You advise your remaining team that you consider them to be exactly that, a team, and not a collection of individuals backing up a star. This is going to generate a more cooperative environment amongst the rest of the team and a positive culture change.
One star is not worth the rest of the company.
I recommend you read “Good to Great” by Jim Collins, it’s scientific and great in the application.
Posted by: John Kevan - Project Manager | September 26th, 2007 at 12:34 pm | Report this commentHe is underperforming. She is a star. Demoting him is a sure path to severe demotivation.
Instead, I suggest that you promote her to an equal position. Give them both the same, clear, performance-based objectives and linked incentives. Be frank with him about his underperformance with her present, and tell them that they will both be assessed according to the same criteria.
This should be enough to put the fire in his belly - I very much doubt that he would be happy about his wife earning more than him in bonuses, especially when they’re based on the same criteria. And it’s likely to make the wife work hard to show her worth to the company as well.
And if they both underperform (under some misguided attempt to make each other not look so bad) then demote/fire them both. You don’t want to show any tolerance for this sort of behaviour in your workplace.
Posted by: Ben - Investment Banker | October 10th, 2007 at 5:02 am | Report this commentYou need to tell her you value her for all her excellent work quailties independant of her husband .. and the issues between you and her husband are none of her business!! As/when you fire his sorry arse (following leaglly acceted practices) you will need to tell her how much you value her… HOpefully she stays, but more than likley she will go. If you keep him when he is not perfoming the damage this will do to your business wwill probably out wiegh the benifits of keeping her. …. Kick him out … work on keeping her … but prepare a contingency plan for when she quits. No one is indespensable and you may be surprised how things work out in the end with bioth of their replacements.
Posted by: marke | November 6th, 2007 at 11:16 pm | Report this commentJust fire him if you think he is no good. If she leaves so be it, you’ll find other good people that don’t cause this problem.
Posted by: JB, CEO, male | November 8th, 2007 at 12:27 am | Report this comment