Most managers, when faced with a struggling employee, reach for the obvious explanation: a skills gap. The person ships too slowly, the quality isn't there, or they simply can't keep pace with the team. Time for training, perhaps, or a performance improvement plan.
But here's what I've learned after years of managing teams: the problem rarely starts with skills. It starts somewhere deeper—with fit, engagement, and motivation.
I call these the hidden pillars of performance. They explain the puzzles that keep managers up at night. Why does that technically brilliant engineer produce mediocre work? Why did such a promising hire flame out during onboarding? Why has a loyal, long-tenured employee suddenly lost their spark?
The answer is almost never "they forgot how to code" or "they need another workshop."
The Foundation Beneath the Skills
Think of these three pillars as the foundation of a house. You can install beautiful fixtures and premium appliances, but if the foundation is cracked, nothing else matters.
Fit is whether someone can genuinely integrate—not just into a role, but into the living organism of a team. It's about values, habits, communication rhythms, and the subtle social fabric that makes groups function.
Engagement is the emotional and intellectual connection to the mission. It's the difference between someone who shows up and someone who shows up.
Motivation is the engine that converts intention into action. And crucially, it runs on two fuel sources: intrinsic (purpose, craft, meaning) and extrinsic (money, growth, recognition). Cut off either supply, and the engine sputters.
When any of these breaks down, performance becomes unstable—regardless of how impressive someone's skills look on paper.
Fit: More Subtle Than You Think
Fit isn't about hiring people who look like you, think like you, or laugh at the same jokes. That's just building an echo chamber. Real fit is about compatibility—whether someone's way of working can mesh with the environment around them.
The tricky part? Misfit rarely announces itself. Sometimes everything looks fine on the surface. The person is smart, capable, pleasant to be around. But something feels slightly off. Projects take longer than they should. Information doesn't flow smoothly. Small tensions accumulate like sediment.
These micro-signals compound. And by the time they become visible problems, the damage is often done.
When the misfit runs deeper—when it's about company values rather than team dynamics—you'll see it everywhere: in how decisions get made, in how feedback lands, in a quiet resistance to change that infects everything it touches.
Engagement: The Contract Nobody Signs
Engagement is the emotional contract between an employee and the mission. Unlike the offer letter, it's never formally signed. But it matters just as much.
You should be checking for it constantly. During hiring: does this person actually care about what we're building, or are they just looking for a job? During onboarding: are they leaning in with curiosity, or going through the motions? In your one-on-ones: do you see energy, initiative, ownership—or a slow retreat into task completion mode?
Disengagement has a distinct signature. Quality slips. Enthusiasm evaporates. Sick days multiply. Ownership gives way to indifference. The person is still there, but something essential has left.
Motivation: The Spark That Makes It Go
Here's where managers often get confused: you can be engaged and still underperform. Engagement is about caring. Motivation is about doing.
The intrinsic engine runs on meaning, mastery, and enjoyment. The extrinsic engine runs on compensation, recognition, and growth. Both engines need fuel.
A deeply engaged employee who feels underpaid or stuck will eventually slow down, no matter how much they love the work. A well-compensated employee who finds no meaning in what they do will drift toward the minimum viable effort.
Motivation isn't a perk. It's a performance driver.
What Great Managers Do Differently
The best managers I've worked with share a common habit: they assess these pillars intentionally, not intuitively. They don't assume engagement—they verify it. They don't check motivation only when things go wrong—they monitor it continuously. They understand that fit can shift over time, as teams evolve and people change.
Most importantly, they catch the early signals. A slight drop in energy. A pattern of checking out. A growing distance from the team. These aren't problems yet—but they will be.
The Diagnostic Question
The next time someone on your team is struggling, resist the urge to immediately prescribe a skills solution. Instead, ask yourself: Is something broken at the foundation?
Check fit. Check engagement. Check motivation—both kinds.
If any of these elements is compromised, you've found a root cause, not just a symptom. And root causes require different interventions than surface-level fixes.
The performance problem you're seeing might not be about what someone can do. It might be about why they've stopped trying.
Want the Full Framework?
This post explores concepts from Managing Low Performance, where I develop complete frameworks for diagnosing and addressing these issues. If you want practical tools you can apply immediately—including step-by-step evaluation methods, diagnostic heuristics, and printable templates—you'll find all of it inside the book.
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