If you are an experienced professional, you might have worked with a demotivated or underperforming colleague. The critical point for the project manager is, he or she has to motivate all project resources to produce the most out of their capacity. The project manager must motivate underperforming resources in a project.

When I see an underperforming resource, first, I observe him whether it is a one-time issue or occurring frequently. Because, depending on daily life, each person can have fluctuating motivation level. If the project team member is underperforming for a couple of weeks, I invite him to a coffee break. First, I ask him how does he feel about the project, whether he is happy to work in the project. Then, I ask him whether there is anything demotivating him about the project, work or company. If there is a problem with the project, work or company, I will try to find the root cause of the problem and then I try to resolve the issue that is causing demotivation. In some cases, demotivation can be because of the problems in the daily life of the project team members. In that case, if the team member tells about the problem, I will do my best to help him.

A software developer in my banking project was performing very well. All of a sudden, I noticed a decent drop in his performance. After one week passed, I talked to him. I was thinking that he was demotivated because of the recent promotion and bonus announcements in the company. However, I learned that he just broke up with his long-lasting girlfriend. It was a personal issue, however, I tried my best to motivate him. I organized a couple of team lunches that all project team attends to change his mood. After two or three weeks, he was performing well again.

Project manager candidate describes how he approaches a demotivated project team member step-by-step. Then, he gives an example from his project, which makes his experience stronger in this project manager interview question.