.png)
Dr Clare Sieber on the You Are Not a Frog Podcast: Performance Management in General Practice
- Dr Clare Sieber
- May 22
- 3 min read
In a May 2024 episode of the You Are Not a Frog podcast, hosted by Dr Rachel Morris, Dr Clare Sieber joined the conversation to discuss what to do when a colleague is not pulling their weight. The episode explores the realities of performance management, the discomfort that often surrounds feedback, and the impact that unaddressed issues can have on team morale and workplace culture.
As a GP and mediator, Clare brings a practical perspective to this subject. The discussion looks at how leaders and team members can create conditions for open feedback, use the SBI framework to make difficult conversations less personal, and support healthier, better-functioning teams over time.
You can listen to the full episode here:
Why performance management in general practice can feel difficult
Performance management can feel like an uncomfortable topic, particularly in close-working teams where relationships matter and difficult conversations are easy to postpone. In general practice, where pressures are already high, concerns about upsetting colleagues or creating conflict can make these issues even harder to address.
The difficulty, however, does not remove the need. When concerns are left unspoken, frustration often builds quietly across a team, affecting morale, trust, and day-to-day working relationships.
A more constructive way to give feedback
One of the useful themes in the episode is the value of separating observation from accusation. Clare discusses the SBI approach - Situation, Behaviour, Impact - as a way of framing feedback more clearly and less personally.
This matters because many workplace tensions escalate not simply because a concern is raised, but because it is raised too late, too vaguely, or in a way that feels personal rather than constructive. A more structured approach can help people speak more openly while reducing defensiveness.
Team culture, trust, and psychological safety
The episode also highlights the importance of team culture. High-functioning teams are not teams without difficulty; they are teams in which people can raise concerns, challenge one another appropriately, and talk honestly about mistakes and learning.
That kind of openness depends on psychological safety. Where trust is low, performance concerns are often avoided until they become more serious. Where trust is stronger, feedback becomes part of a healthier ongoing conversation rather than a one-off confrontation.
When a colleague is not pulling their weight
Concerns about a colleague’s contribution are rarely only about output. They can affect fairness, workload distribution, resentment within the team, and confidence in leadership. In a partnership, practice team, or PCN setting, these issues can quickly become relational as well as operational.
Addressing them early and clearly is usually better than allowing assumptions to build. What starts as a performance issue can otherwise develop into a broader dispute about expectations, values, communication, or role clarity.
The link between performance management and mediation
This is one of the reasons the topic sits so naturally alongside mediation. Many workplace difficulties are not simply about whether someone has or has not done something; they are also about how concerns are raised, interpreted, and responded to.
Mediation and mediation-informed communication can support more constructive conversations, particularly where tensions are already affecting relationships. In that sense, performance management in general practice is not only about accountability, but also about creating the conditions for teams to work through difficulty without becoming stuck in conflict.
Listen to the Episode
🎙️ What to Do When a Colleague isn’t Pulling Their Weight | You Are Not a Frog | 7 May 2024
Featuring Dr Clare Sieber
About General Practice Mediation
General Practice Mediation supports GP partners, practices and PCNs in resolving disputes constructively and confidentially.
If your PCN or practice is facing governance or relationship challenges, you can book a free 30-minute consultation at a date and time convenient for you.
Comments