Just how do you supervise a contrary, jaundiced, or overly aggressive direct report?
What's the magic formula to managing that onerous staffer who will not let a day go by without complaining – about anything? Or the ‘pleasant-on-the-surface' employee who is really passive-aggressive? What about the gossiper and malcontent who makes sport out of spreading their gainsaying venom throughout the office?
Negative nelly’s are bad for your company’s bottom line not to mention an employee morale killer; but you know that. So what can you do about it?
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1. Don’t stick your head in the sand. Address the problem instead of ignoring it and nix the urge to pretend that there is no issue. No one likes confrontation but making excuses that your employee is too indispensable to get rid of, or turning a blind eye doesn’t make the situation go away.
Face your concerns head on with your disruptive employee, but not before taking a few minutes to identify the actual problem. Then develop a game plan which will be your blueprint on how you will address your concerns directly with your employee. Your plan should also outline the concrete outcomes that you are expecting moving forward.
2. Have a clear-cut and easily articulated plan of action. Depending on the situation, your goal may be to work with your employee to change the behavior.
Give him or her a reasonable timeline to change their behavior along with your crystal clear expectations regarding the changes you’d like to see and the time frames in which the changes need to take place. Be sure to be clear that changes need to be immediate and consistent. Set a date in the future to discuss their progress.
3. Don’t be afraid to cut the cord if necessary. Sometimes despite your best efforts, you need to fire employees who are disruptive; even those that you deem as indispensable. Use your best judgment based on the situation while incorporating any company policies and past termination cases into your assessment to determine whether it is time to part ways.
Need a little help with how to handle those sticky employee situations? Learn To Deal with Difficult Employees
Dianne Shaddock
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