Late Again?

Difficult dilemma, uncomfortably late

Stephen, Project Manager for a heating, ventilation and air conditioning service company in Salem, OR told Session 8B of Turbo Leadership System's Leadership Development Lab (LDL):

"It was the beginning of 2019, a new year and we were working on a job site in North Portland. We had a new crew member working in the field with me who had only been with the company a little over a month. He had, on several occasions, called in at the last minute to say he wasn't coming in, or he just didn't show up. This is inexcusable and he had to be written up. I knew it was going to be an uncomfortable situation for me, since I had never done an employee review before; nevertheless, he had to be written up for these repeat offenses.

"This gave me the opportunity to use Turbo's DARE+ process. I decided to, and followed the five steps exactly as we practiced them at Session 5. The 5 steps gave me the framework I needed to tackle this uncomfortable situation.

"I started out by telling him what I had been observing when he calls out or doesn't show up for work. Then I asked him what was going on personally that might be spilling over into his professional life. He had a couple of excuses for each time I sited. I reminded him of our company policy; our standard is to show up as scheduled and if you have to call in to give plenty of notice. I noted that this standard is in our handbook and emphasized that being on time is important because we need employees that are reliable. I asked him if he would agree to adhere to the standard and show up as scheduled. He agreed.

"I ended our conversation by letting him know that his foreman saw great potential in him and that he was a great worker when he does show up.

"The lesson I learned from this experience is the DARE+ process we are learning in the LDL is helpful in those uncomfortable, confrontive situations. Even if I don't follow the process exactly, the framework helps me communicate in any tough situation.

"The action I call you to take is to use the DARE + processes, apply it in your everyday life - both personal and professionally.

"The benefit you will gain is the feeling of confidence in your difficult, confrontive situations."

Standards are only standards when you stand up for them. You can stand up for your standard without being a jerk about it - simply spell out your standard as a reminder and ask what happened.