My Employee Is Bad at His Job but Keeps Saying He’s Doing Great

My Employee Is Bad at His Job but Keeps Saying He’s Doing Great

His self-hype is out of touch with reality. Is this salvageable?

How do people fail upwards?

I guess we all know one fairly obvious example politically of someone who kept advancing despite being incompetent at every step. And I guess I know some of the immediate answers that come to mind: "Be male", "be white". But how do some people climb the ladder when common sense suggests they shouldn't? For every office, there's a co-worker who submits poor work yet receives that promotion, while you're putting in overtime with zero recognition.…

my employee is bad at his job but keeps saying he's doing great

A reader writes: I recently hired a new administrative employee. His job is to answer phones, greet guests, and complete various tasks I assign to him. His customer service skills are strong, but his attention to detail is very weak. I have given a lot of feedback and training, but he continues to make basic mistakes and misses almost every deadline I give him. But he is constantly telling me how great of a job he’s doing. He routinely tells me …