I consider this stealing from the client and myself.

Steady there... that's a pretty big accusation to go throwing around. And you run the very real risk of torpedoing any chances of a constructive converstaion if you take that mindset.

First up ask yourself - if you weren't aware of this activity on leetcode would you otherwise be happy with this person's output, timeliness of delivery etc? Because if so you might be looking at this wrong, for many people solidly working for the full eight hours of a work day is difficult and short informal "breaks" can actually help maintain a higher productivity over all. Whether that's stepping out for a smoke break, checking the news, answering a question on Stack Overflow or, yes, doing a puzzle on leetcode. People aren't machines - and as such we all have our little quirks that we have or do as part of being productive.

So if you're happy with their performance - I'd suggest you do nothing.

But what if you aren't? If there are performance problems - missed deadlines etc then you need to address those exactly as you would any other time. Communicate with them, let them know that you need more from them and ask if there's anything stopping them delivering. I wouldn't mention the leetcode activity at this point, I still think it would be counter-productive, them getting defensive and feeling spied upon isn't likely to help matters (even if you're concerns are justified) - see if they improve. If they don't, and you're still seeing similar levels of activity on leet code you could bring it up then as a last ditch effort to shape them up. But ultimately what matters is whether you're getting results from them, and if you're not then you need to replace them with someone who will.

When you go to a restaraunt you don't go watch the chef and criticize his technique - you care about how the food tastes, not how it was prepared.

I consider this stealing from the client and myself.

Steady there... that's a pretty big accusation to go throwing around. And you run the very real risk of torpedoing any chances of a constructive conversation if you take that mindset.

First up ask yourself - if you weren't aware of this activity on leetcode would you otherwise be happy with this person's output, timeliness of delivery etc? Because if so you might be looking at this wrong, for many people solidly working for the full eight hours of a work day is difficult and short informal "breaks" can actually help maintain a higher productivity over all. Whether that's stepping out for a smoke break, checking the news, answering a question on Stack Overflow or, yes, doing a puzzle on leetcode. People aren't machines - and as such we all have our little quirks that we have or do as part of being productive.

So if you're happy with their performance - I'd suggest you do nothing.

But what if you aren't? If there are performance problems - missed deadlines etc then you need to address those exactly as you would any other time. Communicate with them, let them know that you need more from them and ask if there's anything stopping them delivering. I wouldn't mention the leetcode activity at this point, I still think it would be counter-productive, them getting defensive and feeling spied upon isn't likely to help matters (even if your concerns are justified) - see if they improve. If they don't, and you're still seeing similar levels of activity on leetcode you could bring it up then as a last ditch effort to shape them up. But ultimately what matters is whether you're getting results from them, and if you're not then you need to replace them with someone who will.

When you go to a restaurant you don't go watch the chef and criticize his technique - you care about how the food tastes, not how it was prepared.