Your mentee joins the call and does not turn the camera on. After a minute of small talk they say it. Their manager gave them a performance improvement plan yesterday. Sixty days, four written goals, a meeting every Friday. They sound embarrassed to be telling you, and a little afraid of what you will think.
The first thing they need from you is not advice. It is evidence that this conversation is still safe. Say so plainly. Thank you for telling me. This does not change how I see you, and we will work out what to do together.
Then help them read the document properly, because most people only read it once, in shock. Go through each goal and ask the same questions. What exactly would count as meeting this? Who decides? Is there a number, a deadline, an example of what good looks like? Vague goals are common, and a vague goal cannot be met on purpose. Encourage them to ask their manager, in writing and in a calm tone, to make each one concrete.
Be honest about what a plan can mean. In some companies it is a genuine attempt to help someone recover. In others it is mostly paperwork on the way to an exit. You probably cannot tell which from the outside, and neither can they yet. So help them prepare for both without despair. Work hard on the goals as if recovery is possible, and quietly update the CV as if it might not be. Neither one undermines the other.
Help them build a weekly rhythm. A short written note to the manager each Friday, before the meeting, listing what they did against each goal. That record helps them think clearly, and it means the final judgement rests on facts rather than impressions.
Watch their health as well as their work. Sixty days under scrutiny is exhausting, and people on plans often stop sleeping, stop asking questions and start hiding small mistakes, which makes everything worse.
Know your limits. You are not their lawyer, their manager or their HR representative. If something seems unfair, point them to the people who can actually act on it.
And whatever happens at day sixty, stay. People remember who kept turning up while things were going badly.
– Asael Shinder
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