I sometimes worry about the yes culture that is much prevalent in society these days. A kid is supposed to hit ball 100-yards but instead he can only hit the ball 10 yards.
Parents do not want to discourage the kid so they say that he is doing well. The young fellow thinks that he is a star by hitting the ball 10 yards when in fact he is 90 yards behind schedule. Now when this type of encouragement leads to the classroom at school it becomes a dangerous matter. Kids grow up thinking they are at par; they move from class to class even after failing a test and finally succumb to a rude awakening when they have to take the SAT. As I am not an education expert, I do not wish to take this discussion further, but we may want to take some cues from Germany, that it may be advisable for schools to provide a technical education to those students who cannot find their way into academics. A plumber or a carpenter is as useful to society as a banker or a doctor is.
On the other hand, what I very much learned from American culture is not to directly tell a kid that he is doing badly; in other words do not be negative, but point out the failure in a positive way. Therefore, rather than tell the kid that he is a poor bat, you may want to tell him, “look, you hit the ball up to here, but you are expected to hit it further.” At some point though, the parent may want to make the kid do something else instead of trying to reach the 100-yard mark with a lot of frustration. As kids get older, they will begin to realize what is for them and what is not and make their choices accordingly. However, if parents push too much, then children can breakdown.
The very fact of the matter is that we cannot have a society where all are doctors, tailors or carpenters. If everyone on the street is a doctor then the drains will clog and people will be walking around with gunnysacks rather than well-tailored clothes and wading through water with raised clothing. Thanks to the plumbers, engineers, scientists, tailors, et. al for their contributions to society.
Now if we bring this ethos into organizational management, why do we tell a staffer who is doing badly? You would not want to tell Jane Doe or Peter Piper directly that they are no good for the job as such a direct statement can be devastating. You may first want to find out what the problem is and then see whether the staffer is suited for the job or not. It also depends whether the leadership in the organization is affecting the staffer in some way. On the other hand, the person may be the wrong choice for the job. However, inefficiencies do not happen suddenly. If a staffer is unsuitable for a job, it shows in the early weeks and months of taking up the position. Other inefficiencies can arise from faulty equipment, too much work or deadlines that are overambitious and humanly impossible to achieve.
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