A coach explains why calling someone lazy is useless. Instead of the label, give specific feedback: respond to emails within five minutes, send meeting notes ahead of time. Concrete expectations work better than vague judgment.
I think John's lazy. Why do I think John's lazy? What did I observe that then made me think that? Now you might find out, it's like, you know what, he's actually just slow to respond. Okay. Is there anything else? There was one meeting he came ill-prepared. Okay. Is there anything else? No, I think that was actually it. So when I go to John, instead of being like, hey, you're lazy, I'm going to say, hey, I need you to speed up your responses to under 5 minutes. And when you come to a meeting, have your notes ahead of time. Just send them to me. All of a sudden, John's not lazy anymore.
