How to Handle Underperformance on Your Team
Handling underperformance is the part of management most managers are least prepared for and most likely to avoid. The avoidance is understandable — the conversations are uncomfortable, the outcomes uncertain, and the emotional labor significant. But underperformance that isn’t addressed doesn’t improve. It compounds, usually to the cost of the individual, the team, and eventually the manager.
Key takeaways
Addressing underperformance early — before it’s critical — is almost always better than waiting.
Most underperformance has a diagnosable cause. Understanding it before responding is essential.
Clarity about expectations, timely feedback, and genuine support are the foundations of a productive response.
Blomma’s reflection partner helps you think through difficult people situations with structure rather than alone.
The accountability partner keeps your commitments in these situations visible — because underperformance conversations require follow-through.
On this page:
Diagnose before responding
Before having any underperformance conversation, understand what’s actually causing it. Underperformance has several common causes: unclear expectations (the person doesn’t know what good looks like), skill gaps (they want to but can’t yet do the thing), motivation issues (they can but aren’t engaged), or personal circumstances (something outside work is affecting performance). Each of those requires a different response.
Responding with feedback when the cause is unclear expectations is unhelpful — the person needs clarity, not criticism. Responding with criticism when the cause is a skill gap is counterproductive. Getting the diagnosis right before the conversation changes almost everything about how it goes.
The conversation framework that works
A productive underperformance conversation has four elements: a clear description of what you’ve observed, clarification of what good looks like, genuine curiosity about what’s getting in the way, and a specific agreed plan for what changes.
The clarity and curiosity elements are both essential. Clarity alone comes across as punitive. Curiosity alone can come across as not taking the issue seriously. Both together create a conversation that’s honest and supportive simultaneously.
Following through consistently
The commitment you make in an underperformance conversation — to check in regularly, to provide support, to give specific feedback — needs to actually happen. Managers who have the initial conversation and then don’t follow through consistently are often more damaging than managers who don’t have the conversation at all, because the inconsistency undermines trust.
Blomma’s accountability partner is specifically useful here: the follow-up actions from an underperformance conversation stay visible so they happen rather than quietly not happening.
When formal performance management is needed
If performance issues persist despite clear expectations, genuine support, and consistent follow-through, formal performance management processes may be appropriate. At this point, HR involvement and formal documentation become important. Blomma can support your thinking and preparation throughout — but formal processes require your organization’s HR guidelines.
For how 1:1s are part of the ongoing performance picture, how to run better 1-on-1s is useful context. For giving feedback effectively through this process, how to give feedback as a manager covers the framework. For external guidance, see [EXTERNAL: SHRM guidance on performance management and underperformance].
Frequently Asked Questions
How early should I address underperformance?
As early as you notice the pattern, not when it’s become a crisis. Earlier conversations are shorter, less charged, and more often successful.
What if the person breaks down or gets very upset?
Acknowledge their emotion without abandoning the content of the conversation. “I can see this is hard to hear. I want to give you a moment and then I’d like to keep talking because this matters” is a way to hold both.
Can Blomma help me prepare for an underperformance conversation?
Yes. Working through the situation in the coaching — what you’ve observed, what you want to communicate, and how the person is likely to respond — helps you prepare for the conversation without improvising under pressure.
Should I document underperformance issues even before formal processes?
Yes. Brief notes on what was observed, what was said, and what was agreed to are useful both for your own clarity and for any formal process that might be needed later.
What if the underperformance is partly my fault as the manager?
That’s worth acknowledging honestly. If expectations weren’t clear or support wasn’t adequate, saying so explicitly in the conversation demonstrates accountability and often changes the dynamic.
Managing underperformance is hard, and doing it well is genuinely important — for the individual, for the team, and for you. Blomma gives you a place to think it through carefully so you walk in prepared.