A Star Employee Is Failing at His New Job. His Ex-Boss Wants to Help

A manager just learned that a former star employee is reportedly on a performance plan at his new company — and workplace columnist Alison Green's advice is blunt: there's not much the ex-boss should actually do about it.

The exchange ran in Green's advice column on Inc.com, where she fields reader questions on management and workplace issues, from micromanaging bosses to awkward team conversations. This reader's dilemma: what do you owe a once-high-flying report after they've left your shop?

What happened to Adam?

The letter writer recently left their company for a similar role at a larger, more established organization. Their former employee — call him Adam — had left about six months before they did.

Adam's track record looked unambiguous. He started in an entry-level job, and after a year the letter writer promoted him into a different role, moving him out of their direct reporting line. He was, in the manager's words, a rising star, which is why the promotion came so quickly. When he left, he moved up again, into a slightly higher role at a similar organization.

Then came the industry event. A few weeks ago, the manager ran into Adam's new boss and expected praise. Instead, they heard the new employer was having problems with Adam — and the new boss implied he was on a performance plan.

The letter writer was shocked. They're friendly with Adam, consider themselves a mentor, and now plan to reach out to check in. But without details, they're left guessing: how much of this is a culture or personality mismatch, and how much is Adam simply not being ready for the jump to a bigger organization?

Should a former boss step in?

Green's answer starts with a hard stop: "There's not really much for you to do."

She lays out the possible explanations. Adam's skills may not match what the new job actually needs. The new team or organization may be poorly managed and haven't set him up to succeed. Or something the letter writer knows nothing about — personal or professional — may be dragging down his performance. Or, as she puts it, "all sorts of other things."

Takeaway: with no visibility into the new shop, the ex-boss can't diagnose the problem, and shouldn't try.

Who's really at fault here?

Green also flags a detail the letter writer may have missed: the new boss's candor is itself a warning sign. That Adam's manager was "so forthcoming with the details reflects badly on the boss," she writes — "that's not the kind of thing you gossip about or share with someone who doesn't need to know."

Her read: the loose lips indicate the issue might sit at least partially on the employer's side. Still, she concludes, "ultimately this isn't really yours to sort out."

Takeaway: a boss who shares performance-plan gossip with a stranger at an industry event may be part of the problem.

Can you still be a mentor?

There is one legitimate move left, Green says: "You can definitely reach out to Adam and ask how things are going."

From there, read the room. If Adam seems open, offer advice or act as a sounding board. But Green draws a firm boundary around his autonomy: "it's also possible that he prefers to handle it on his own (or at least doesn't want to loop in a previous manager), and that's OK too."

That last clause is the practical lesson for any manager tempted to rescue a departed star. The mentorship offer is worth making; the rescue mission is not. For Adam, the performance plan will be resolved — or not — inside his new organization, not through an old boss's well-meaning intervention.