"Though these situations are often unpleasant, they are a part of being a leader. Performance management is important to me, and I always familiarize myself with the disciplinary process. For example, in the past, I have followed my company's policy of a verbal conversation/warning, a written warning, a performance improvement plan with laid-out expectations and disciplinary steps, and finally, termination if things didn't improve. I am experienced in this area and feel confident in my abilities, but I also always include HR in this process to protect myself and the company from adverse legal situations."

"In my previous role, I had to coach an underperforming employee. This person did not meet expectations, so we had a one-on-one conversation. I reviewed what was expected and gave examples of how the employee was not meeting those expectations. We discussed an action plan to get back on track, and I gave the employee two weeks to implement changes. At the end of the two weeks, the employee had not made any effort to improve, so I had a conversation with HR. We decided it would be appropriate to administer a write-up, with the next step being a formal performance improvement plan if those expectations were not met. Thankfully, the write-up was a wake-up call, and the employee improved their performance. That employee had an excellent work ethic after that."