Helene Speight and Simon Smith were the project leaders this week and as in previous weeks this turned out to be a poison chalice as both came under the spotlight for negative reasons.

Christopher Davies, professional support lawyer, Halliwells

The decision of Simon to put himself forward as the project leader eventually led to his dismissal. Yet again on the show there was a clear example of a manager being the victim of ‘mobbing’ as from the team members Alex and Claire made it very difficult for him to take control or properly manage the task.

However post ‘dismissal’ Simon commented that he understood Sir Alan’s suggestion that he was not a leader and accepted he may be better suited to be a team member rather than a manager. Possibly Sir Alan as the prospective employer had spotted a capability issue?

Nobody could help spotting the clear capability issue in the other team following the decision of project manager Helene to place Lucinda Ledgerwood in charge of technology matters. Lucinda freely admitted before the task had commenced that she was clueless when it came to operating almost any gadget and during the show it became clear that this was no exaggeration.

Capability issues can be difficult to deal with in the workplace. However if they are ignored then they tend to get worse as the business loses money and the employee loses confidence. Providing adequate support and training are key steps on the way to attaining improved performance. The management role is to assist the employee know and understand what is expected of them and to ensure that they have the skills and ability to deliver on these expectations.
 
The issue is really down to performance management. The aim should be to establish a culture in which individuals and groups take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes and of their own skills, behaviour and contributions.

A manager should use performance or appraisal reviews to assess capability. The meetings should be constructive rather than merely critical. Required learning and development can be identified and a coaching plan agreed that will enable the employee to reach a set objective or 'goal' within a certain time limit. 

While capability is a potentially fair reason for dismissal in most cases it would only be considered reasonable if support has been provided and the employee has still not reached an adequate level of performance.