Sarah is a client relations manager at a small branding and marketing agency in Boston. About five months ago, she got a new boss who quickly started giving her negative feedback and sitting in on her meetings. Now, without warning, he put her on a vaguely worded performance improvement plan with an 8-week runway. Yikes! Kate and Jake discuss the challenges of unclear expectations in performance management, the implications of a short timeline in PIPs, and how leadership dynamics and vague feedback can set employees up for failure rather than improvement.

Need some advice from Kate and Jake? Email [email protected]. 

Katharine Smith is an organizational psychologist and career performance coach at Mountain Valley Coaching…but she’s still learning how to use a microphone.

Jake Tuber is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, psychology professor, and Principal at Ticonderoga Advisory. He is not funny.

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