Your first reaction to this idea of making a supervisory meeting a team-like experience with your employee rather than a break bad session may sound unsatisfying. It this is the case, step back and understand that your employee is a valuable resource or a potentially valuable resource you want to shape. See them as a precious commodity, not an opponent.
Although nothing guarantees a corrective interview without problems, there are things you can do to make problems less likely. Always demonstrate respect for your employee with language and tone, and choose an appropriate meeting place. Focus your discussion on the performance issues, not the personality or character of your employee. Check your emotions to prevent using language designed to elicit guilt or shame that can provoke contentious behavior. Help your employee see correcting his or her performance as a goal you share together. Example: “Susan, how can we work together to get your weekly auditing reports to me on time?” Approaching your employee in this manner keeps the focus on performance, but does not preclude a more firm and assertive intervention later, if needed. Try the 14 Vital Skills Program we placed on its own Web site to help you out and learn this and other skills more effectively.
