Here's how you can address a team member falling short of their goals or targets.

Something to consider: Everyone is different, what is important to one individual is not important to another. The view point of a “team” stems from openness, creativity and drive. With this your team can be amazing! Pushing a person in the wrong direction with only (your perspective) could turn in the wrong direction. Keep an open mind, challenge the person and Opportunities, but remember….they may see something, a new opportunity or you may be able to capitalize on both thoughts and to come up with a winning solution.

To address a team member falling short of their goals or targets, have a constructive conversation to identify challenges, provide support and resources for improvement, set clear expectations, and create an action plan with regular check-ins to monitor progress.

Before making quick judgments, you need to thoroughly evaluate the situation and examine the set goals and compare them to actual performance, assessing if the goals were realistic and if adequate resources and support were provided. External factors or team dynamics changes may impact individual performance. Context comprehension is crucial for fair, constructive discussions. For e.g. If an employee didn't meet a sales target, consider if the target was realistic, whether they had proper tools and support, or if market conditions changed unexpectedly.

From my experience, I have always learned to have a clear communication with the team. If you feel like your team member isn't able to reach the targets, arrange a meeting with them and understand the issue. Ask them to explain the situation, comprehend their perspective and encourage them to suggest what could be going wrong and how it can be fixed. Offer your inputs and advices but motivate them to self-analyse and respond because it will help them deeply realise where they need to improve. Offer them support and appreciate their efforts and together sit down to plan new ways to achieve the target :)

You must initiate an open dialogue with the team member to establish a safe environment for them to share their perspective freely. Use open-ended questions to explore their challenges and actively listen. This conversation aims not only to pinpoint issues but also to demonstrate appreciation for their input and offer support. For e.g. "Can you tell me about your experience with the recent project? What were some of the challenges you faced along the way?" This approach encourages transparency and trust, fostering a more constructive discussion.

In my experience, I have often realised the importance of conveying the vision and expectations to your team. Once you have conversed with the team member and understood the issue, explain your expectations to the member. Set deadlines, offer details and describe what is truly needed from the member. Ensure them that you are there to offer support so they can feel free to reach out. Help them analyse the situation, provide them pathways and resources to achieve it and ask them to take it easy, not that they don't pressurise their ownselves :)

You must communicate your expectations clearly to the team member for future performance, ensuring they grasp their role's importance and what adjustments are necessary, specifying deadlines for improvements. This prevents misunderstandings and outlines a straightforward path to progress. For e.g. "I need you to improve the accuracy of your reports by implementing our new quality control process. Can you complete the training by next week and start using it in your daily tasks?

You must provide support and resources to aid the team member's improvement, such as training, mentoring, or workload adjustments tailored to their strengths. Emphasize your commitment to their success and willingness to collaborate in overcoming challenges, fostering confidence and dedication to achieving objectives. For e.g. "I see you're struggling with the new software. Let's schedule some extra training sessions next week to help you get comfortable with it. I'm here to support you in mastering this tool and achieving your targets."

It is important to understand that even if you have discussed the goals with your team member, they would naturally need your help. Offer them with the needed resources, training, expert sessions and advices. Support them if they need any help and give them new strategies and techniques to try and see which works best for them. When they get proper guidance from you throughout their work, it becomes easier to resolve issues as it comes and gives them an opportunity to learn and understand their flaws.

In order to understand whether the member is doing well or not, it's vital to have a regular check on their progress. Arrange regular meetings with them, ask them for the updates, understand what is left and what is done and track their performance. Offer them useful insights and advices that can help them improve their progress and acknowledge their efforts. A genuine acknowledgement can take them a long way and build their morale :) Monitoring progress regularly offers you with the chance to recognise loopholes and keep resolving them as they arise.