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[quote=Anonymous]There is a Gen Z woman that recently was added to my team. First job out of college. I am looking for advice on how to work better with her since we've just started. It's been kind of rocky from the start and we've only had about four interactions so far. The first time I scheduled a meeting to help her with something she was on her phone half the time even when I was talking to her trying to explain something. Every single email seems to be some sort of power play either questioning something I'm saying or telling me she's too busy to do something despite only having half her week booked up while the rest is on training. Basically, she challenges everything I say and goes to other people, specifically younger minorities in the company, to try to override anything she doesn't understand instead of coming to me to discuss. I've been in this business for 30 years and at this company for over 15 years. I'm confident where I am but it's a headache to deal with the underlying hostility and rudeness. Recently I was teaching her how to do something and expecting her to do it so she'd understand a task from start to finish and she got asked to do something else for a day and told me I should do the work instead of her because she was busy. It's not an urgent project and the entire reason she was on it was to learn the process.

She was hired by my boss to be put on my team. Her portfolio of work is all about helping people with trauma, safe spaces, her fundamentalist religion, and helping minorities. She is also a model and wants to own her own company one day per her portfolio. She seems to see the world in a very black and white view where she is some sort of main character person fighting against the evil of the world. She doesn't seem to have any respect for titles and roles in a business or with proper social interactions such as not using your phone when someone is teaching you something or putting the work back on someone else just because you got assigned something else. The proper thing to do would have been to just notify me of the additional work (which she knew I already had been anyway) and just ask to help her out with the workload and timing to complete. Not say that I should just do the work instead of her as if I should take orders from her. She's been at the company for 1 month.

I am a traditional woman who enjoys working with people in a trusting, conversational, interactive manner. I also have trouble with outside consultants and clients who act like bullies often getting into rages or lying about something to get their way. I get sensitive to this type of behavior but have learned not to take it personally, and just do what they say and document for the inevitable fallout. Clearly, I have a history of people thinking they can take advantage of me if this person 1 month in is ready to disrespect a team lead like this so often.

How can I confidently be kind and disciplined while respecting her age and background? I understand she's very young and want to empower her in a way that doesn't make her a bully and conceited but a true collaborator on the team.  I am trying to reduce the power play issues without losing authority for important items.[/quote]

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