How to handle difficult staff
By Jo Ki-hoon
Most managers are uncomfortable when handling difficult staff, but this is a critical component of good management.
Celine, the manager at a professional services firm, has faced a few too many run-ins with one of her staff. The employee had a tendency to perform poorly when under the pressure of a deadline; he became aggressive with members of the team, make disparaging remarks and shamelessly bully others. In short, he made things unpleasant for everyone who worked with him. The manager knew something had to be done, but Celine was reluctant to sit down with this problematic member of staff for fear of how he might react to her feedback.
But this is a dilemma that Celine is not alone in facing; many professionals lose sleep over the thought of talking to employees about their behavior or problematic work habits. It’s not an easy job and many managers are not educated and trained properly to react and solve such tricky situations. But, if difficult issues are not dealt with and if managers do not deliver constructive criticism to an employee when it is needed, they end up regretting it. And, neglecting to address issues could drive poor team morale and fuel a negative work environment as well.
Delivering tough feedback is not always easy to do and most managers worry that they will hurt an employee’s feelings or that they might lose an employee when their organization faces a critical time. But there are a number of ways to handle a tricky employee situation before it escalates.
It is critical that managers are aware that the feedback process demonstrates to employees that, as a boss, they care enough to speak to them. It’s remarkable, in fact, how little one has to say in order to help someone. Bosses who follow through and deliver a touchy message often find that good employees act quickly after receiving feedback and are usually appreciative.
The manager should make a specific and succinct message when a manager prepares for the delivery of feedback. It should pinpoint the problematic behaviors and outline the impact and consequences of those behaviors. And that’s it. No further embroidery. If an employee gets the message, he or she can act on it. There’s nothing kinder than that.
There are six principles to remember when preparing the message.
First, do it in a timely manner. Don’t wait to give your feedback until performance review time. If you establish a positive pattern of two-way feedback, trust builds and relationships deepen. Make giving constructive and positive feedback a daily activity, so it becomes a part of the way you work. Everyone will benefit from such an approach.
Second, do it in person. Communicate important messages in person. Using voicemail or email may appear less like pressure, but it is easy to misinterpret an email or voicemail and such forms of communication do little to develop relationships. It is important for a manager to see the body language and reaction of an employee and to address any misunderstandings or questions that might arise.
Third, keep it short and be prepared. To prepare, write out your message. When you deliver the message, if you talk for more than ten minutes you will have likely diluted the feedback. Commit to your plan. If you try to wing it, the potential emotional response of the recipient and pressure of the situation may cause you to back-pedal and muddy the message.
Fourth, deliver it with a forward-focused view. Limit your feedback with instructions on how to solve the situation next time around as best as you can, e.g., “Before the new project commences, I want to have a project planning meeting with you. During the meeting, let’s review how we can work together to get this organized and manage pressures and stress points.”
Fifth, be specific, direct, and to the point. Use a situation-behavior-impact feedback model: start by describing an actual situation where the behavior occurred, describe the person’s behavior in that situation, and give a clear account of the impact his or her behavior had on you or others. The result is a message that is clear and can inspire action and productive change.
Calling out unproductive behavior and communicating tough messages are important parts of management improvement. Left untended, problems fester, emotions boil over and one small issue can grow into a crisis. Fine-tuned and sound feedback skills must be a crucial component of every manager’s development plan.
One thing that is clear is that tough feedback done right is more likely to improve the performances of your employee and your organization than no feedback at all.
Jo Ki-hoon is a
partner at Deloitte
Consulting.