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We don’t get frustrated with the 12-year-old who can’t solve advanced calculus problems.
We have empathy for the mechanic, who’s technically masterful with her hands, when they struggle to operate effectively in a complex office environment.
We don’t ruminate endlessly when a person who’s lived half way around the globe acts differently when they relocate to a new culture.
However, some leaders become upset when an employee underperforms. Their stress is caused by the assumption that the employee could perform if they would only try harder. Or get better at doing what the boss told them to do.
These reasons imply that the employee is choosing to fail. And, as much as the stressed mind wants to harbor such a belief, it’s not true. The real reason the employee is under-performing, most likely, is because they lack certain capability.
This means, of course, that the matter is not that of the employee, but a decision that needs to be made by a leader.
Getting upset with others is the grand lie being told: We have more control than we care to admit.
