Most managers don't struggle because they can't handle low performance. They struggle because they're not even sure they're looking at low performance in the first place.
Is this person truly underperforming? Is it just a temporary dip? Is it me? Is it the team? Is it the project?
This uncertainty creates a fog—and inside that fog, managers hesitate, postpone, and hope for the best. That's exactly how small issues evolve into long-term headaches.
The real starting point in managing low performance is simple: gain clarity. And you can only do that through a structured evaluation process—not through intuition, not through vibes, and not through comparing people informally.
In Managing Low Performance, this entire first stage is called Evaluate, and it exists for one reason: to help you make a fair, confident, defensible assessment before acting.
Below is a distilled version of that process.
Use a Competency Matrix (Not Your Gut)
A competency matrix is the single most reliable way to determine whether someone is meeting expectations. It outlines what "good" looks like at each seniority level and across both technical and behavioral dimensions. You compare the employee's current behavior and output to those expectations—nothing more, nothing less.
This matters because it removes bias, prevents goalpost-moving, creates a shared language for expectations, and makes gaps visible rather than merely felt. In other words, you stop judging and start measuring.
Evaluate Fit, Engagement, and Motivation
Performance isn't just ability. Two engineers with the same skills can perform wildly differently depending on team fit, company fit, engagement, and motivation—both intrinsic and extrinsic.
If any of these foundational elements are off, performance suffers even when competence is high. This is why low performance isn't always a skill issue. It can just as easily be an alignment issue.
Revisit Expectations Together
You can't evaluate performance against expectations that were never shared. If expectations were unclear or implicit, you need to reset them clearly, make them explicit, and mutually agree on what success looks like. From here on, everything becomes easier. Without this step, every other evaluation signal becomes noisy or contestable.
Gather Interaction-Based Feedback (The Right Way)
Ask peers and stakeholders—not for "performance reviews"—but for descriptions of collaboration quality, reliability, communication, and impact on their work. This triangulates your evaluation and prevents you from relying solely on what you see directly.
When You Combine All Four Signals, the Fog Disappears
What you get is a simple, robust picture that answers the only question that matters: Is this a real low-performance case, or just noise?
Once you know the answer, you can finally move from hesitation to action.
Most managers skip straight to fixing. The best managers start with clarity.
Want the Full Framework?
This post is a short extract of what's covered in Part I – Evaluate of Managing Low Performance. If you want the full system—including step-by-step evaluation, the complete competency matrix model, example conversations, diagnostic heuristics, and printable templates—you'll find all of it inside the book.
Get the book on Amazon