Tips for Managing an Employee Who Always Makes Excuses

Based on what research and managers themselves are telling us about this pattern, effective leadership is our biggest tool in countering employees who always make excuses. As a manager or HR leader, you’ve likely encountered this more times than you care to count. But are you doing everything you can to mitigate the loss of productivity on your team, and bolster their motivation for future success? Team Leadology weighs in!

If you’ve engaged with our socials over the past few weeks, you know that we’ve been simmering on the topic of manager effectiveness–– namely, how it’s changed over the years and what it now looks like for workplace leaders in 2023. We even had the opportunity to hear from a greater portion of our community through a recent Instagram poll, where managers from all over shared their insight and experiences on the subject, particularly when faced with managing employees who are prone to making excuses about their work. 

In a time where hybrid work is so prevalent, one of the biggest trends that’s come to light is how the relationships between managers and employees have frayed, particularly amidst massive waves of layoffs, requiring managers to step up and take on more responsibility. With greater workloads and less bandwidth to hold individuals accountable, managers are undoubtedly feeling more and more frustrated when they don’t feel as though they can trust employees to deliver.

3 tips to increase the effectiveness of your management for the employee who always makes excuses

While employees are ultimately responsible for their performance, manager effectiveness plays such a significant role in empowering teams to produce desired results. This said, today we’re discussing our top three steps for managers who are ready to address a pattern of excuses with their employees: 

• Clarify expectations upfront to leave little room for misunderstanding
  A failure to meet expectations can largely be tied to a lack of understanding around them. In fast-paced work environments, managers may shorten or skip out on conversations that provide employees with the context, framework, objectives needed to perform to the best of their ability. Establishing your expectations upfront will not only leave little room for excuses but will save time otherwise spent picking up for an employee's shortcomings later on.

• Lead with curiosity to determine the root of the issue
  While navigating this issue may grow cyclical and tiresome for both parties, it’s important that you don’t end the conversation after acknowledging an employee’s excuse. Instead, acknowledge their pattern and use it as a way to glean more information on their time management, prioritization, processes, etc. Not only does digging deeper bring accountability into the conversation, but it creates transparency around any legitimate roadblocks.  Staying curious about real reasons and contributing factors allows you to provide better support when necessary.

• Offer incentives in the face of little motivation
  In cases where employees are dependent on making excuses for their work, it’s possible that they may lack the drive to deliver the desired results. While conversations surrounding motivation in the workplace may feel uncomfortable, they aren’t always negative– consider the ways in which you can incentivize good performance for your employees, including reminding them what they enjoy about their work and what sort of satisfaction they might receive from doing it well. If anything, this opens up a conversation in which employees can share their strengths and collaboratively discuss ways to implement them for sustainable productivity.
  
  Looking for ideas on how to keep employees, including remote ones, motivated and engaged? Add this Leadology article to your reading list.

Becoming the most effective manager you can be

We absolutely can expect the best from people. When we invest in our own efficacy as leaders and managers, we bring the same mindset into our organizations by eliminating roadblocks and inefficient processes and better supporting our teams to ultimately meet the expectations we set. At Leadology, we’ve watched countless leaders prepare for this vital work by engaging in purposeful conversations and utilizing management resources offered through our premier leadership program Activate. 

Ready to cut the excuses and streamline processes for your team? Schedule a strategy call with us to learn more about how Activate is helping leaders leverage manager effectiveness to eliminate excuses and raise expectations! 

Carrie & Team Leadology