Several years ago, I had to replace a receptionist for my unit. Before I advertised for the position, I was approached by another manager, and asked ifl would consider a transfer from his staffinstead of opening a new competition. My natural question was to ask who he wanted me to consider and why.      It appeared from his description of this employee, Maria, that she was having a lot of problems performing her duties, and had difficulties with her boss, and did not appear to respond to any attempts he, the manager, had made to settle the issues. Now, after listening to his explanation, I really had severe doubts. What crossed my mind, after this discussion, was that he wanted me to take a problem off his hands.      I told him I would think about it and would let him know the next day. As promised, after   thinking more about this potential performance issue, I decided that I would agree to speak with      Maria privately before I made any decision.      And, what I found out during this interview, left me deep in thought. As it tumed out, the    performance issue appeared to result from working for a boss who never extended a good morning.   greeting, never gave a word of encouragement, and was constantly changing the work load and    routines. The end result was a totally ruined employee who was unconfident, hated to see a new work day start.      I decided to accept her transfer to my unit. What started out as a shy, withdrawn and frightened employee turned out to be one of the most productive and loyal employee that I had eyer worked with. Maria couldn't do enough and was constantly asking for more and for more responsibility. I was morethan happy to give her what she needed-praise for work well done, respect as a person, and encouragement for doing well in anything she dealt with.      Sometimes, we are guilty of holding others back from accomplishing or doing, or developing as they should or could. It may be a wise idea that we all look in the mirror, from time to time, to seewhat we are really like. Why did Maria fail to perform well in her previous job?
Her previous job was not suitable for her. She had difficulty responding to her manager. Her boss didn't inspire her working enthusiasm. Her boss showed no trust in her ability.