Supporting an employee and managing performance are not necessarily opposing responsibilities.

Managers may need to show understanding and respond appropriately to an employee experiencing difficulties while still maintaining role clarity, appropriate boundaries and legitimate organisational expectations.

Having spent more than 20 years in management roles with responsibility for people, teams, business performance, operational and financial outcomes and KPIs, I understand the practical tension managers can experience between supporting people and delivering results. That experience now sits alongside my work as a counsellor and psychotherapist and informs the way I support managers.