The World Series is upon us, and baseball shows us what many managers need to know, which is how to deal with those who underperform.
Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher has not been hitting throughout the playoffs. Manager Joe Girardi took him into the office and told him he would not be playing last night. He then informed Jerry Hairston he would be stepping in for the day. Girardi let Swisher know before anyone else knew the reasons behind the decision, rather than have everyone question why the lineup change took place. Swisher reacted as a good athlete will, by not wanting to sit out but respecting the decision of his manager.
Another way to confront a non-performer indirectly in baseball is to not even allow them to participate in a critical moment of the game. Mariano Rivera typically pitches 1 inning per game, but because the bullpen has been shaky, and this is a critical time, Rivera has been pitching 2 innings per appearance in must win games. This may shake up the other pitchers out there to have more focus and learn by watching how Rivera handles such situation.
Similarly, in the workplace, you may have critical deadlines coming up, and you may want to use one of these methods to get the right people on board. Whether you choose to take someone off a project short-term or give your best work to the best under-pressure performers, handling these decisions requires respecting those who you are in effect removing from key business decisions.
