I’m Chris Williams, sometimes known as CLWill. I'm a leadership advisor here to help you be a better and smarter leader.
With over 40 years of organizational experience, ranging from the smallest startups to the Fortune 100, I’ve seen a wide range of ways to build and manage teams. I have been an individual contributing member of project teams, a middle manager of substantial parts of major projects, and the leader of some huge teams - as many as 1,000. I’ve written code, run my own businesses, lead teams of technical and business professionals, and been the VP of HR at Microsoft at the height of the dot.com boom.
Today, I advise senior leaders, from Directors to the C-Suite executive. I bring practical, everyday solutions to the problems leaders face every day.
@CLWill Is a PIP appropriate for what does not seem to be performance issues and are actually instances you were seeking answers and clarity your boss was not able to provide? Can one be delegated excess unreasonable duties not with in their job scope?
A PIP might be used by the manager in that case because (from their point of view) the person is not performing as requested. It's a bit of a fib to say that, but it is not uncommon. WRT duties not on the job scope, unless you're under a very specific contract, what's in your job scope is what your manager deems it is.
Amazing how 10 hour a week jobs become 40 hours a week with all the senseless meetings. The 30 hour workweek is much more possible when pointless meetings are cut.
I have faced counteroffers several times in my career and debated it at length. The likelihood of taking a compensation bump now to stay and later face a scenario of little to no comp increases because you have put yourself in a situation where you reach the top of your pay band or they just skip the next cycle because of your last pay increase is real. They also know that you caved and would prefer to stay when given a competing offer and after meeting your demands, they'll look to restore the balance.
I would say being a part of a protected class can at least mitigate the motivation for retaliation in this process. Lousy excuses can do for at-will, but once you have a protected characteristic, it becomes a lot easier to correlate any write-ups with discrimination. That being said, I don't ever employ this strategy. It is unwise. Just take a new job, leave, and thank them for your time.
I was put on notice to improve or whatever they called it. It was basically a formality after I'd put in a grievance for bullying, to get me back on track again. The MD needed to keep staff; otherwise he didn't make any money. Companies don't need this bullshit; it costs them money. Be a huge pain in the arse for them; it's not worth it for them.
Never thought I wanted to lead... managed a team for five years... never wanted to learn to code... did coding and machine learning... life is weird and you follow weird paths throughout life. Cool channel. Glad to have found it! In my 30's and glad to learn some more from your experience!
Chris! I just found your channel and your youtube setup is killer! Hey I just scaled a channel to 29k subscribers and 4 million long form views, and I had some ideas on how you can grow this channel even more. Would love to share my ideas with you. Is that something you would be interested in hearing?
I tried to tell this to someone. She tried to start a war on our supervisor who had been with the company 25 years. She asked me would I make a statement supporting her issues with our supervisor. I told her absolutely not while our supervisor sucks you are going to have a target on your back HR does not care. Six months later she was pretty much forced to quit and the supervisor is still there.
I’ve been on the receiving end of this as an employee. I ended up getting scouted at my last job. Definitely left on good terms and still feel nostalgic for it.
You have to convince _their_ manager that: a) there is a real, clear, objective issue, not just you or someone with an axe to grind, b) that issue is costing the company (in people, but most importantly in $$), c) that cost is vastly higher than that person's crappy behavior is bringing in, d) there is a viable alternative. The problem is almost always C. They know the person is a pain in the tail, but that person brings in so much revenue. That whatever the cost, the $$ coming in outweighs the negative. They can't imagine replacing them. Which brings up D. There has to be a way forward. In my experience, A has to get so terrible, that B gets on senior people's radar, causing questions about C, which gets them looking for D. Hard work, but it can be done, and does happen. You need their boss to see all of this. Good luck.
As a professional I find the vdo lecture vry.effective.ln my opinion In PIP T&D play's important role through Various training Methodologies as per need.R&D also plays important role in boosting skill nd there by increasing efficiency and productivity in brief.Nice nd Informative Lecture in nutshell.Thanx.
I will absolutely never give up our weekly catch-up. 10 people shooting the shit, connecting, sharing, debating. Money well spent. You’re just a bad leader if you can’t get value out of getting people together.
I''d love to hear confidential feedback from each of those 10 on the value of that meeting. I would bet that you and four or five others have a blast, and the others would rather be anywhere else. Why do I say that? Because I've done it. I've asked teams, one-on-one, with no fear or concerns that it would get back to the manager. And that's what I hear every time.
I have never seen a PIP get used on actual incompetent unprofessional people. From my experience a PIP is mostly used to start a paper trail & get rid of someone they don’t like.
As a person who has seen hundreds of pips, there certainly are well-intentioned ones that are honest efforts to get improvement. Many, unfortunately are not, and even if well-intended, recovery is difficult or impossible.
I have someone that I work with in a senior role (that I don't role up to) that embodies every trait you described and has constantly hurt our team morale because of this over the few years I've worked with them. I've felt no way out because of it and feel as though there's no where to turn for help. Also on a side note, have you ever done audiobooks? You have a phenomenal voice for narration!
Wow, that's harsh. Their role is handcuffed and boxed in a way that makes success hard. But it attracts people with good intentions, most of whom are trying their best. To call them grifters is unfair.
@@CLWill dear Mr Chris, I really appreciate your huge work to share your amazing life/ work experience with us ( younger generation) . Huge respect for you Sir and wish you all the best 🙏 👍🙂
Vry effective vdo lecture. Top level executives or managers r the backbone of any Sector or organization etc.They should understand the problems of the employees nd need to b humble.They should avoid self centred approach nd egoism as by doing this they affects the organization in negative way.Manager should be matured in my opinion as a professional in brief.Vry.nice tips nd inspiring too.
This video is misleading and does not reflect the reality of how PIPs are applied. The vast majority of companies that put people on PIPs simply using it as pretext to get rid of someone they dont like. Rare if at all do managment actually provide concrete evidence to supporty their accusations in the PIP - making it assuredly false and without merit. This speaker is a textbook corporate representative and should be ignored. If you are put on a Pip, ask for evidence that shows the accusations in a concrete way. 99% of the time they will fail to do so. Ignore the PIP, and if you get terminated without just cause, sue your employer if your country has laws that allow this. There is zero reason to stress about a PIP. In virtually all cases, management will terminate you even if you did succeed at the goals.
Did you watch the whole video? I clearly state that PIPs are often used as a pretense for other issues, often used as a lead in to a termination, and that you rarely will survive them. That you should prepare your exit. In fact the title and description of the video are about how you should plan your exit.
Oh, they hate the bad managers as much as you do. But unfortunately the company doesn't. So HR will be screaming from the rooftops about them, but the higher ups save them (for the $$ they bring in, or the friendship, or whatever). The people who protect the bad managers aren't HR, it's their boss (or their boss or ...)
You are wrong and misleading the audience. HR is not there to keep the peace. They are a company instrument, there to collect data on you for when the employer wants to fire you. They collect that data so they have proof, to build a case against you for your termination, so they easily win the court case. Do not believe any other claims about HR working for you. They are false.
Not wrong, not misleading, you missed the point of this video, and the original one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BMs-y0NctsI.html Yes, HR is an agent of the company. That's the point of this and the original video.
I recently had heat exhaustion from hogging mud for bricklayers and woke up the next day exactly were I parked my truck late for work thinking I left my wallet in my buddies car and got a message I was fired. I realized something wasn't right and went to the emergency room. Now I'm wearing a heart monitor without a job and don't know what to do since I haven't heard from the employer after contacting them and telling them what's going on.
This is what I keep telling my boss on our all staff weekly team meeting, of which content can be easily shared via share drive. My boss said all staff meeting helps improve team building. It will not unless every member takes ownership on their job and gets it done correctly and timely with or without regular meeting. Some people like to call up others for meetings all the time without having specific agenda to make them look very busy so they can get good performance appraisal. They are stealing other people’s time to earn their own credit. I hate those selfish people.
I wholeheartedly agree. And I'd further add that when you're leaving a company (by your own decision or otherwise), always decline to do an exit interview. Be polite (or silent), but just don't do it. There is never an upside to the employee--HR is not going to give you your job back, and they're not going to give you a raise or remove your manager. At best, if you're lucky, HR will receive the exit interview neutrally. However, any information obtained can and may be used against you. It's not worth it. Just say thanks but no thanks, and move on.
I learned a lot in this job and genuinely like my sup. But body blow #1 was when their insurance no longer covered my area. Got to travel 2 hours round trip for medical care. Ah, well. Signed up for a virtual job fair for a nationwide employer that will cover my area. I still can telecommute, and the office is three blocks down from where my reporting office is now. As someone said PIP = paid interview period😂
In last March, I was placed on a PIP for the first time. I was very shaken by it and I tried to do better in my job. Unfortunately I lost the job a month later. I'm currently still struggling to get a job right now.
This one I find interesting. You are a huge proponent of not having useless meetings. So if we know the outcome before the meeting begins, why are we meeting? I know I'm probably being too black and white here, so what am I missing?
You often need to have meetings to formally approve some project/decision. There's no way to avoid that meeting, it is part of the approval for the project. My point here is don't go into that meeting blind. Have worked behind the scenes to know a) who's on your side, and who is _so_ on your side they'll be an ally in any fight, and b) who's against you and what their biggest arguments are. This is much like what the "whip" does in a parliamentary system (like the US Congress). Their job is to go around and count votes. They won't hold any vote they know they can't win.
@@CLWill Totally get what you're saying. I don't disagree with what you're saying, yet there's something about all of this that feels out of place, inefficient, and very "this is how we've always done it." I don't have the answer on how to get past that, there's just a natural reaction in me that says we put SO much effort into finding out the answer before we go in and then we are also wasting time to formalize the known. When these actions compare with government, it feels even more ridiculous 🤷♂️
Many proactive companies do much/all of this kind of thing on line. There are two models: 1) Publish the question, the arguments pro/con, the proposed resolution, then get together for one final meeting to hash it out. 2) Do step 1, but also do the final vote on line. Either of these is better, but I would argue that some kind of open consensus building is crucial. Even if you have done all the homework beforehand. You have to get everyone to "be heard" and have to come to a formal agreement. After which you get the commitment that we're all going to abide by the decision. I don't know anyway to do that other than some kind of meeting mechanism. Even if it is virtual.
It's becoming more common, esp with tools like teams/zoom/slack and so on. The place I see it happening more is with Boards, where they aren't holding to a strict meeting schedule, but able to make remote decisions on a better timetable.
Yes because the people who already may be feeling betrayed or abandoned by the company and maybe doesn’t trust them is gonna wanna trust them or just trust someone else with their personal belongings…if I’m not coming back I’m not leaving them and if they’re mine then the company nor anyone at the company should be touching what’s personally mine…that to me is a violation…most people don’t like strangers or coworkers touching their personal belongings as far as I know
Did you apply this on some company? I agree with the concept but thinking this "we are going to discuss this issue tomorrow at 9, be there if you care" demand a huge maturity from everybody
Many companies do some/all of this kind of thing. Demanding "huge maturity" is the actual point. Treat people like adults. Set strong expectations, and make those clear. Reward people who do the right thing. Who participate. Make the consequences of _not_ showing up when it did matter real. "Sorry, you should have brought that up when we asked for input." When someone isn't "mature" tell them. Set the expectations, you'd be surprised at how many people can meet them.
Hey Chris, quick question. I am in the United States. A couple months ago I ended up quitting my job while on a pip. If you could please answer whether my former employer would reveal to the new employer about the pip during background/reference check? I’m worried that a pip would hurt my chances of landing my next role.
Depends on a lot on the company, and on the request. Most companies, when asked as part of a background check will simply confirm employment dates and the answer to the "don't rehire" checkbox. Most systems keep a flag that indicates "do not rehire". They usually only check that for malfeasance (theft, harassment, etc) and not performance. So unless your PIP was really bad -- absolutely terrible performance, the checkbox was not likely set. So a request for dates would be clean. That said, if they do a real reference check, and ask to speak to your last manager, then you could have an issue. Here again, many companies won't do that. They don't want the liability of having said bad things about people. But some could. That's why, no matter what terms you left on, I recommend taking the high ground, and being adult about it. If I were you, I'd be a little honest with a potential new employer. "I left my last job because it was a terrible fit for me. My departure wasn't great, and I'm looking to turn a new page" And then focus all your attention on the potential. "I'm excited for this role, and I can see ..." and so on. Hope this helps.
@@CLWill Thank you so much for the advice. I don’t think I left necessarily on bad terms but I did leave without notice as I thought I had secured another role when I left. As per your advice I’ll probably wait it out with my next job offer since you mentioned that most wouldn’t bring it up on bg checks / references. I also didn’t know that there’d be liability on companies if they disclosed details about a pip during a reference check. So thank you for mentioning this. If I found out that they do bring the pip up, I will be completely honest with it if I have to look for another job again. If I had known about how pips worked from the start, I would have never signed it. Thank you for your advice sir. Have a great weekend.
