Work the Problem: How Experts Tackle Workplace Challenges

TAKE 1

Commentary by Joe Willmore

A leader in the field of human performance, Joe Willmore is a consultant for a range of organizations and the author of numerous publications on performance improvement.

 

This is a great case because it’s so typical of what a lot of consultants face—an organization where everything seems to be going wrong, things are falling apart, and there are lots of possible targets to pursue. And professionals not taking a performance improvement approach would likely jump to some immediate conclusions, like “Let’s provide executive coaching for Theo Paine,” who admitted when he took the job that he wasn’t that experienced, or “Let’s send everyone through training on a range of topics, like safety issues, supervision, and ...