Reply to Pissed that I have to do remedial counselling with an employee who was reprimanded for harassing me.

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Reply to "Pissed that I have to do remedial counselling with an employee who was reprimanded for harassing me."

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, I have to ask: does anyone in your leadership chain have concerns about your supervisory and/or communication style?

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OP here. I checked in with my supervisor about this last week after the first counseling session.

She said no, she feels my leadership style is great. [b]I am very direct with my staff and put most questions or concerns in writing. I minimize meetings, I have monthly/mandatory 1:1's with all my staff and one unit meeting per month. All of my staff have passed the probation period and are independent workers. I don't micromanage or spend a lot of time chit-chatting or doing unnecessary social stuff.[/b]

The issue is that is what my problem staff is asking for. She is requesting more validation and acknowledgment of her experiences and education, she wants a relationship with "shared power and values" according to the communication coach. This is why she wants me to call her directly so she can chit-chat and feel psychologically safe. My supervisor doesn't like this suggestion because she wants the problem employee gone and a paper trail of all communication; she's attending all 1:1's with the employee too.

I told my supervisor I had concerns about the feedback from the communication coach. She is concerned too but said there's nothing we can do about it since the agency director asked me to do it. I'm wondering if it's because the employee filed an internal grievance and despite that it was unfounded, my agency director is trying to show they addressed my direct report concerns about my management style and (if there is future problems) it's on her, not me.

It just feels like mind games at this point. [/quote]

To start - I agree with the PPs that your employee seems to have psychological issues and that your agency's process is overly drawn out and deferential to the requests and social/emotional needs of people who are low performers and/or unstable.  I also agree that you need to document everything in writing (and would expect that your HR/communication coach would want the same).

That said, your management style sounds very cold and detached.  You need to relate to people on a personal level (which sometimes involves "unnecessary social stuff") to gain trust and to understand their personal drivers of engagement and productivity.  In a situation like this, you also would benefit from the enthusiastic support and backing of the rest of your staff in contrast to your problem employee.  This is unlikely to happen if you relationships with them are as transactional as you describe.[/quote]

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