The Highly Committed, Over Committed Employee – Likeable But Not Capable

By Michelle Malay Carter on December 2, 2009 

Over committed employee - cannot do the jobMy Experience – Managers Have Big Hearts
Managers are a compassionate breed.? They tend to want to exhaust all avenues before deciding to remove an employee from a role that s/he is not performing to standard.? They try training, they try coaching, they try pleading, etc.? The idea that anyone can do anything if they want to and if apply themselves has done us all a disservice.?

She’s A Great Person but The Job is Not Getting Done
Today we will look at one of the most difficult cases for managers to deal with.? A likeable employee who works hard, is committed, accepts feedback, but then still does not get the job done.

This post is number four in a series of four. The series titles and links are listed below.

  1. Possible Negative Manifest Behaviors of an Underutilized Employee
  2. Possible Positive Manifest Behaviors of an Underutilized Employee
  3. Possible Negative Manifest Behaviors of an Over committed Employee (not yet cognitively capable of the work level required of the role)
  4. Today’s Post – Possible Positive Manifest Behaviors of an Over committed Employee

No Need to Fire, No Need to Label
As I said in my last post, when a employee is over committed, it does not mean they cannot contribute. It means they cannot contribute as needed in their current role. When managers see this type of behavior, it?s time to consider redeploying the employee into a position where they can shine.?

The alternative is for the manager to do the work himself or for the manager to distribute it amongst the underperforming employee’s peers.? Each of these solutions has negative ramifications.

Possible Positive Behaviors of an Over Committed Employee

I’m OK.? You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.

Filed Under Requisite Organization

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