30-day turnaround

Address underperformance without drama

You know what kills momentum faster than a budget cut? Inheriting a team that was “managed out” of someone else’s line of sight. No role clarity. No standards. No consequences. Just drift. And then the minute you set a deadline, someone whispers, “bullying.”

Underperformance is expensive. It costs delivery, credibility, and if you’re a leader, your reputation. Yet too many managers treat “managing out” as a long, painful process rather than asking: how did it get this bad in the first place? Here’s the truth: accountability is not cruelty. In Australia, setting expectations, timelines, and feedback is lawful and expected. It’s called reasonable management action. And if you want to protect your high performers, you need to install systems that make underperformance the exception, not the norm.

A senior executive in government told me recently that while they were on leave, a new team was “adopted” into their portfolio. This wasn’t a team, they were a collection of people side-balled away from other managers who didn’t want to deal with them. Not delivering, not even attempting. The executive spent months caught in process hell, trying to “manage them out” instead of focusing on national-level priorities.

Sound familiar? Whether you’re in government, corporate, or fast-growth business, it’s the same trap: if you avoid accountability early, you’ll drown in process later.

Here’s what the research and the law say. Deadlines are not bullying. The Fair Work Commission is clear: reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable way including setting KPIs, giving feedback, and starting performance plans is not bullying. Clarity prevents escalation. A written role scorecard with 3–5 key outcomes makes underperformance obvious. The 30-day turnaround system works: weekly 15-minute check-ins with a one-page tracker, two clear documented warnings if issues persist, a time-boxed improvement plan of 4–8 weeks with measurable targets and support, and if no improvement, part ways respectfully and lawfully. Probation is your safety net. A clean 90-day framework avoids six months of drama later.

Remember that government executive? By the time they pushed through the red tape, the damage was already done. Their good staff were burnt out, their delivery stalled, and their calendar hijacked by endless “management action” meetings. All because clarity was missing on day one.

Managing out is not leadership, it’s triage. Great leaders build systems that stop drift before it starts: role clarity, consistent feedback, and timely decisions. Accountability is a kindness. It respects the individual, protects the team, and keeps the mission moving.

So ask yourself: are you leading for clarity, or are you postponing the hard conversation? Because every week you delay, your high performers are the ones paying the price.

Your next step? Audit your team. Do they know their top three outcomes? Are check-ins consistent? If not, start there. And if you want frameworks you can apply tomorrow, listen to the latest episode of Transforming the Game, where we unpack real strategies for leaders navigating underperformance without losing months to process.