Interventions
• Restructure the work process to capitalize on the employee’s
strengths and bypass her weaknesses. Do not put employees who
are prone to delays in positions where they can cause bottlenecks
or have a final say-so. Projects that land on their desks can sit there far too long, impeding the progress of other employees and
customers.

Place these analytical employees in roles supporting others who are better at making decisions. Often removing the responsibility for acting on the information frees up the analytical employee to move a bit faster. She does not feel the weight of everything riding on a perfectly “right” answer from her.

• Set clear limits and deadlines in concrete terms. This is a necessity.
Define what you want from the employee in terms of how much time he should spend on a project. Set boundaries up front on how much time the employee should be allowed to invest before getting back to you with an answer. Here are some examples:

• “Find me as many studies as you can in an hour on motor oil
disposal in sandy soil. I will call you in an hour, and you can just give me what you have at that point.”

• “Between now and noon tomorrow, please tell me which three
methods of bacterial clean-up you find most promising. This is just a top of mind type of discussion. All I want is your first take on the subject. I will have 30 minutes for the phone call, from 1:00 to 1:30.”

Taken From: 201 Ways to Turn Any Employee Into a STAR Performer