Job retention hinges on many factors. Sometimes, personalities simply don’t mesh. When it’s unlikely that your boss will change, you could be out the door, no matter how well you do your job.
But if your boss has performance complaints about you, you must find out what those are. If formal evaluations or meetings aren’t making the problem clear, you must ask.
Ask how you are disappointing your managers and how you can improve. Immediately. The damage already may be done. But you may be able to make the case that you want to do better, that you can do better, and that you want your boss’s confidence.
And managers, do your employees a huge favor: Be direct and specific about their need for improvement. Those conversations aren’t comfortable, but they’re easier than a pink slip meeting. And it wouldn’t hurt to boost confidence by finding something nice to say, if you can.
©2013 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)
Distributed by MCT Information Services.
