Coaching Technical Staff through Performance Gaps

Addressing performance gaps can be one of the most challenging responsibilities for a lab leader, especially when the employee has strong technical knowledge or was recently a peer. Effective coaching requires more than pointing out what is not working. Leaders need to identify the source of the gap, set clear expectations, and give employees a fair opportunity to improve.

This session will help attendees approach performance conversations with more structure and confidence. Participants will learn how to distinguish between skill, knowledge, behavior, and expectation gaps, prepare for constructive conversations, and build improvement plans that include clear next steps and follow-up.

The session will also address how to balance support with accountability and how to document progress when improvement takes time.

Key learnings

Attendees will learn how to:

• Identify whether a performance gap stems from skills, knowledge, behavior, unclear expectations, or another factor
• Prepare for and lead constructive performance conversations
• Set clear improvement expectations, next steps, and follow-up points
• Balance coaching and support with appropriate accountability