I’ve got an analyst who I don’t manage, but to whom I can delegate work.  He doesn’t do a great job.  The work comes in last minute and is usually full of errors.  He’s not really thorough in his analysis.  Our team is short-staffed, so a lot of his work quality is due to the fact that he is stretched thin.  I try to work with him and train him as much as possible but I keep seeing the same errors in his work.  While I am grateful for the help I do get from him, I seem to zero in on his flaws and wonder how he will get the work done in a better way.  I try to focus on the benefit that I’m getting from him – if the work gets done to a 75% level, than that’s better than 0%.  He tries hard and I know he’s devoted, but I find myself getting annoyed with how much I have to help him with his understanding.

I don’t feel supported in my work with him and I know that’s just a thought.  I don’t feel fully comfortable giving him work.  Do I just need to adopt the attitude that “This is what to expect from J and that’s what he does”?  That feels neutral to me and better than “I get an incomplete project from him every time I delegate something.”  I’m not his manager.  I would like to see higher quality work from him, but I have been buttoning my lip and providing constructive feedback when it’s appropriate which I’m happy to do to help him grow into the role.