Reply to new manager - resources for handling difficult employees?

Forum Index » Jobs and Careers

Reply to "new manager - resources for handling difficult employees?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You need to find out from your boss how much authority you have.  Because you don't want to threaten something you can't follow through on.

If you have the authority, I'd pull him in towards the end of the day and say "Dave, your work is fantastic.  You know that. But your attitude is terrible.  As you probably know from kindergarten, the ability to get along with others is a true skill.  Are you aware that SEVEN of your coworkers have complained about your attitude and the way you talk to them?"

Then I'd talk about how people do what they have to, but they go above and beyond when they like you and are happy to help you.

Then I'd give him the two or three most offensive things he's doing that piss people off and ask him to work on those. [/quote]

This is horrible advice.  This is highly combative and will only foster resentment toward his team members.

I know everyone loves to jump to PIPs and prepping to fire, but you know, if you actually give someone constructive and specific feedback in a way that isn't threatening, you might have better luck at resolving the problem.

Before making this into a PIP or an issue on the performance evaluation, have a conversation with him that is direct but not abrasive.  Think of yourself as modeling the behavior you want him to mimic.  So many managers address interpersonal skills issues by demonstrating crappy interpersonal skills themselves.

Explain to him that you'd like him to work on his bedside manor.  Give specific examples.  "If Suzie comes to you and says X, instead of responding with Y, try responding with Z."   Give him about three good examples.  That's where you start.  See how he responds.  Give him a little time to incorporate your feedback.

The other thing is to search out a group training for your team on conflict resolution.  Find a trainer who will come in and have people do exercises on working through conflict.  This is NOT the goofy trust-building exercises.  This is actual conflict resolution.

It's possible this guy is on the spectrum.  Some people on the spectrum respond very well to very specific guidance.  They don't do well with vague "improve your interpersonal skills."  They need very specific pointers.

The other side to that is that it's possible the rest of your team is very close, and this guy is the odd man out.  In that case, the guy may feel like he is alienated or he may feel defensive.  This is why group conflict resolution training is good because it will also give those other employees skills to deal with difficult personalities instead of running to a manager.

If managers devoted the time they spend trying to fire people to actually trying to find solutions to problems of group dynamics, it would actually save organizations and companies a lot of money because you already have an investment in your employees.  Firing them and then hiring someone new (and hoping that person works out) actually takes more resources and is riskier than simply resolving the issue.

[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics