Being An Effective Supervisor: Never Avoid Dealing With Difficult Employees
[I:http://business.infonex.us/files/2011/02/DianneShaddock8.jpg]Being a leader means that you have to take the bull by the horns and develop the skill of dealing with confrontation.
When you manage employees, it’s the most important part of your job. Ignoring problems has far reaching business impact.
Yet the one thing that I’ve found that has been consistent over my years of coaching managers on how to manage is the fear of dealing with difficult employees, or difficult workplace situations directly.
Clashing with employees for any reason is not easy for most managers. We want to be liked and we care about what others’ opinions. Who wants to be labeled a “bully” boss?
As you’ve likely experienced if you’ve managed employees for any length of time, ignoring even the most minor issues can create larger problems:
* Turn a small, almost inconsequential problem into a stickier problem that becomes tougher to rectify.
* Your staff’s “team spirit” is adversely damaged.
* Top notch employees become frustrated or resentful. Guess what? It’s unlikely that these employees will ever share that with you.
* Turnover increases.
* Work does not get done as efficiently or as quickly as in the past.
* Your employees begin to question your leadership skills.
Make a promise to yourself that you will no longer avoid issues, but will deal with all issues immediately.
So Just How Do You Manage Difficult Employees? Tips On How To Deal With A Difficult Employee, or Issue
Develop a process by which you won’t be so intimidated when faced with workplace issues. Using the issue of the chronically late for work employee as an example, write down on a notepad:
* The problem or issue.
* Your observations of how often they are late for work including the number of days late in a week or month.
* The negative impact that their chronic lateness has on the business, including customers and office colleagues.
* Suggestions on what they will need to do to ensure that they are not late in the future.
Use these notes as your outline or talking points when you have your conversation with your employee.
Management avoidance will always be an issue which is why I’ll be developing a “difficult employee” series for managers which includes what to say and how to say it based on the workplace situation.
In the meantime, make a promise to yourself to take steps to address issues immediately.
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