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The Decision Making Leave discipline process
Dick Grote is a Dallas.based consultant who wrote the book, Discipline Without Punishment. In essence, Grote says don't treat your employees like you are the parent and they are the children, or like you are the teacher and they are the students. or in any kind of one-down. superior-inferior relationship.
His perspective is no-nonsense, firm but fa ir. He suggests a structured method that focuses on being positive around your employees, uses coaching sessions, gives one oral reminder-warning, gives one written reminder-warni ng, initiates a Decision Making Leave, and if those don't work, terminates the employee.
The Decision Making Leave (DML) is the man-bites-dog part of his process. Before we look at the DML, let's see where his method differs from the usual discipline process. Many progressive discipline policies have what Grote feels are extraneous steps: extended probationary periods, numerous Performance Improvement Plans, punitive demotions, transfers or shiftchanges, and several "final warnings."
Grote says many of these middle steps are well-intentioned but flawed and unnecessary,...