Employee is unreliable.
Channel enthusiasm instead of managing chaos.
Employee is unreliable – here's how to demand accountability.
Do you know the feeling? Your employee makes grand promises but delivers little. The team constantly has to compensate while he chases new ideas. Here, you will learn how to turn good intentions into reliable results.
Why some employees are unreliable despite their best intentions.
You assign Rico an important task with a clear deadline. He beams at you: "No problem, I'll have it done by Friday!" But when Friday arrives, he says, "Sorry, I completely lost track of it – but look at what I created instead!" He then presents you with another (quite interesting) solution to a problem that wasn't even urgent.
Your first thought: "Does he not take me seriously?" The truth is more complex. People like Rico have a unique relationship with time and priorities. They are true visionaries, generating a thousand ideas a day. Their minds jump from one exciting task to the next, causing them to lose sight of what is truly important.
Rico is sincere when he commits. He just systematically underestimates how long things take and overestimates what he can accomplish simultaneously. For him, deadlines are more like guidelines, while new ideas are genuine magnets. This doesn't make him lazy or disrespectful – just differently structured.
The problem is that while Rico follows his creativity, your team has to compensate for his lapses. Projects get delayed, others work overtime, and morale suffers. You find yourself caught between his valuable creativity and the need for reliability.
Here’s how the conversation might unfold.
Two Ways to Demand Commitment
The typical mistake
Rico has missed another deadline, and the team had to step in.
Rico, this cannot continue. You constantly make promises but fail to deliver. The team is frustrated.
But take a look at what I've done instead! This new solution is far better than the original project.
That's not the point! You need to learn to stick to agreements. Others must be able to rely on you.
I'm just not a bureaucracy person. Creativity cannot be confined to rigid deadlines.
Rico feels his creativity is being stifled, leading him to work in an even less structured manner.
A better approach.
Same situation, but you take a different approach.
Rico, your new idea for the marketing tool is truly impressive. At the same time, I need your assistance with a problem.
No problem, I can get it done by Friday! What is it about?
The reporting project from last week. The team had to step in because it wasn't completed. Let's discuss how we can avoid this in the future.
Oh, it won't take long. I just had this better idea and... okay, I see the problem.
Rico understands the connection between his priorities and their impact on the team.
Rico Martinez
ENFP – "The Enthusiast"32 years • Senior Manager
Rico is full of energy and has 1000 ideas per day. He systematically overestimates what he can accomplish and underestimates how long things take. He's serious about his commitments – and is then surprised himself when he can't keep them.
Typical phrases: "No problem, I'll finish it by Friday!", "I had a much better idea..."
💡 This personality type frequently causes the leadership problem "Employee is unreliable.".
In conversation with creative, unreliable employees.
Here's how to demand accountability without stifling creativity.
Recommended Strategies
Proven approaches for effective leadership
Start with recognizing creativity.
ENFPs need to feel that their ideas are valued before they can accept criticism.
Demonstrate tangible impacts on others.
"The team had to work overtime" is more impactful than abstract criticism of deadlines.
Define interim milestones together.
Breaking large projects into smaller, manageable tasks helps prevent procrastination.
Schedule buffer time for spontaneous ideas.
Deliberately allocate 20% of your time for new ideas to ensure you meet deadlines.
Implement regular check-ins.
Weekly brief updates help ENFPs stay focused.
Pitfalls to Avoid
Common pitfalls and how to avoid them
Presenting his creativity as a challenge.
ENFPs define themselves by their ideas – criticism of them feels like a personal attack.
Implement rigid processes without justification.
"Because it’s how it is" doesn’t resonate with people who seek to understand meaning and purpose.
Only discuss shortcomings.
ENFPs need positive reinforcement for what is going well to stay motivated.
Expect it to become more structured on its own.
Time management is a real challenge for this type and requires external support.
Engage in micromanagement.
Excessive control stifles creativity and leads to internal resistance.
Unprofessional behavior in client meetings.
Handlung
Entertainment or seriousness? Rico turns every meeting into a comedy show and has made three teams laugh—but has delivered zero important reports. "Paper is for trees" is his favorite saying while clients await documentation. His humor is captivating, but his lack of structure is frustrating. Can you teach the charismatic entertainer that even jokesters must bear responsibility?
Training Goals
Dokumentationsproblem anerkennen
Rico erkennt an, dass fehlende Berichte ein echtes Problem darstellen
Auswirkungen auf andere verstehen
Rico versteht, wie seine fehlende Struktur Team und Kunden beeinflusst
Organisatorische Überforderung zugeben
Rico gibt zu, dass er mit administrativen Aufgaben überfordert ist oder nicht weiß wie
Conversation Start
“Hey Chef! Have you heard about my new idea? It's going to be a real hit! By the way, do you know the joke about the three in the bar?”
Frequently Asked Questions about this Leadership Challenge
Other leaders are asking themselves the same question.
How can I identify if my employee is an ENFP personality type?
Why is my employee constantly unreliable – is it intentional?
How do I prepare for a conversation with an unreliable employee?
How can I best initiate the conversation without my employee shutting down immediately?
What should I do if my employee distracts the conversation with new ideas or changes the topic?
What happens after the conversation – what should I keep in mind?
Does such a conversation even make a difference, or will it only make things worse?
When is a conversation no longer sufficient – when should I involve HR?
How does AI training for challenging employee conversations work?
Is an AI role-play truly comparable to a real employee conversation?
How much time should I allocate for the training?
Where can I find more information about the ENFP personality type as a leader?
Overview of all leadership challenges
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