Finally, when you have an employee that is doing something wrong such as being late, turning in a project late, or not performing well, it is your responsibility to let them know.

If someone is always late, then you don't have to ask for an excuse. If it was one time, then it is ok, but if they are constantly late, there is no excuse for it.

"You have been late for work on a regular basis. You better start coming to work on time."

"This is your third warning. If you are late for work again, we will have to take more serious action on you. Is that understood?"

"Being late for work once in a while is understandable. But there is no excuse to be coming in to work late every day. You better start coming in on time."

When a direct doesn't turn in a project, it's a pretty serious no-no. I would definitely be upset, but as a good manager, I wouldn't accuse the employee without giving them a chance to explain. Here is an example.

"The report was due last Friday. What's going on?"

This is more like a trap question. Unless it is a life or death situation, the excuse shouldn't be good enough. Here is a generic excuse.

"I was working on three other assignments. I just couldn't finish them all."

This is not a good excuse, so you can start reprimanding the employee. You gave them a chance to explain, and since the excuse wasn't good enough, you can basically, 'let them have it.'

"If you were not going to finish on time, at least you could have let me know. Regardless, you knew how important this project was and you knew about the due date. What am I going to do with you?"

"You should have at least told me that you wouldn't be able to finish. Then I could have asked Mary to finish it. This is very irresponsible of you. Is this going to be a continual problem in future projects?"