The seven early signs
Watch for: a steady drop in the quality or pace of someone's work; a change in attitude, with more pushback or negativity than usual; rising short-notice absences with no clear pattern; withdrawing from the team or going quiet in meetings; small rule-bending that no one quite addresses; other people starting to work around them; and a manager who has begun avoiding them.
None of these on its own means you have a problem. But two or three together, building over a few weeks, usually means something needs a conversation.
Why catching it early matters
Left alone, these situations don't stay still, they harden. A quiet word in week one is easy. The same issue six months later, once resentment has set in and the team has noticed you doing nothing, is far harder and often more expensive.
Early action also protects you. If a formal process ever becomes necessary, a track record of fair, documented conversations is exactly what makes it stick.
If you have noticed two or three of these signs in the same person, have a calm, direct conversation this week. Don't wait for it to get worse.
What not to do
Don't ignore it and hope, that is how small problems become expensive ones. And don't overreact and jump straight to a formal process before you understand what is really going on. Something personal, a health issue or a workload problem may be behind it.
The right move is almost always a calm, honest conversation first, with a clear note of what was said.
“I told Samantha she has balls of steel, and I meant it as the highest compliment. We had an employee situation nobody wanted to touch. She looked at it, told me straight what to do, and then dealt with it. No drama, no hiding behind process. That's exactly who you want in your corner when it matters.”
Key takeaways
- Expensive situations give off early signals, learn to read them.
- Two or three signs together, building over weeks, is your cue to act.
- Early and calm always beats late and formal.
- Don't ignore it, and don't jump straight to formal. Talk first.
- Not sure how serious what you're seeing is? Take the free Situation Check.
Not ready to book? Just tell me what's going on and I'll come back to you. No obligation.
