LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner says these 3 sentences can turn around an underperforming employee

Most managers will be familiar with this scenario. One of your team members is falling behind. Deadlines are being missed. Quality is suffering. You tell yourself it's a rough patch, you give it another week, and then another. Months pass before you know it, and nothing has changed.

This is one of the most common and expensive mistakes a manager can make, and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner has spoken out about it.

The pitcher who won't come out
Weiner has a sports analogy he always comes back to. Think of a baseball pitcher who’s wearing out his arm. The manager came out to see to him. “I’m good,” says the pitcher. The manager turns and walks to the dugout. Then the pitcher gives up a home run, and the team loses.


Weiner's point is simple: it's not the pitcher's call to make. It’s the manager’s. In almost two decades of managing people, Weiner says not one single employee has ever come to him, and they weren’t up to the job.

“You don't ask that question of superstars,” he said, speaking of the point where a manager starts wondering if somebody can really do their job. The very fact that you are asking tells you the answer.

Why managers look the other way
Weiner admits he himself is guilty of it, too: stalling, hoping things will turn around on their own. The reasons are understandable, understandably. You fear disrupting the team chemistry, you’re scrambling for a replacement, or you just dread the awkward conversation.

It seems this pattern is really common in American workplaces. According to a study by the professional coaching platform Bravely, up to 7 in 10 US employees would prefer to stay silent on an important work issue rather than address it directly. Managers are just as likely to avoid difficult conversations as the junior employees who report to them are. The research also found that avoidance leads to lower engagement, reduced productivity, and higher staff turnover.

The price of silence adds up fast.

What to say instead
Weiner’s approach is to be honest but supportive. He recommends beginning the discussion with three sentences:

“I'm rooting for you. I'm the reason you're in this role. And I'm going to work with you to do everything within my power to get you up to the bar, if not over it.”

These words are not just warm. They do something particular. The manager takes ownership. They got the employee in that role, so they have a stake in seeing it work, and they’re framing the talk as a collaboration, not a verdict.

Once that opening exists, the manager can have a frank discussion about the gaps and develop a concrete plan with timelines and measurable goals. If things are not going to improve, the manager should be upfront about whether a different role, inside or outside the company, might be a better fit, Weiner says.

Why talking about the future really works
Research backs up why Weiner’s approach comes across better than a blunt “here’s what you’re doing wrong.” A 2020 peer-reviewed study published in PLOS ONE by researchers from the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business and Victoria University of Wellington found that when performance feedback was focused on future actions rather than past failures, employees were much more motivated to improve. In contrast, those who received feedback that looked backward were more likely to challenge the feedback, become defensive, and were far less likely to make real change.

The lesson for managers is simple: dwelling on the negative shuts people down. Pointing to what might go right opens them up.

The compassionate manager isn't the soft one
People believe that being a tough manager means saying hard truths bluntly, and being a kind manager means not saying them at all. Weiner's model is not so.

He once noted that it is not compassionate to put someone in a position they can’t meet, but it is a way to undermine their confidence and self-image. Doing something sooner, with care and a clear plan, is the more humane option.

If you’re a young professional managing a team for the first time, or you’re dealing with a struggling employee, it’s worth taking a moment to absorb this lesson: the conversation you’ve been avoiding is probably the one that could make the difference.