Inconsistent manager capability, remote working challenges, and performance avoidance

Three interconnected challenges form the subject of this video, all sitting within AC 3.1 of FREE07 and its focus on common obstacles in coaching, appraisals and feedback. The video addresses inconsistent manager capability, the difficulties introduced by remote and hybrid working arrangements, and performance avoidance — examining how these issues arise and why they tend to compound one another across an organisation.

The first substantial area covers how variation in manager skill levels affects the fairness and consistency of appraisal and feedback processes, touching on concepts such as the "manager lottery" effect and the role of mandatory training, quality assurance mechanisms and organisational frameworks in establishing baseline standards. The second area turns to the structural and relational difficulties that distributed working creates for coaching conversations, evidence-gathering and performance visibility — including the shift towards outcomes over behaviours, the reduced opportunity for informal observation, and the challenge of maintaining rapport through video-based communication.

The third focus is performance avoidance: the tendency for managers to sidestep addressing underperformance through strategies such as redistributing work or tolerating inadequate standards. The video considers the motivational roots of avoidance behaviour — including conflict aversion and role uncertainty — alongside the organisational consequences for high performers, team productivity and development opportunity. It also covers how HR escalation pathways and managerial confidence-building feature as responses to this pattern.