I had an email from a reader, in regard to a problem he is having with someone in a team he manages. It appears that recently the individual is constantly questioning his authority in front of the rest of the team and is regularly quite negative and “pushy”. The employee is an established member of the team, was generally reliable and the attitude is unusual. I asked what he had done to remedy this situation and he had chosen to simply ignore it, in the hope that it was a “phase” and the team member in question would get over it. Unfortunately I have never seen a case like this where ignoring it does anything but exasperate the situation.
One of the keys to dealing with any form of team discipline is speed. However small or large the issue, it should be dealt with as soon as is practically possible. It is vitally important for a manager to have the respect and trust of his team and leaving an issue like this un-dealt with can only have wider implications and will likely lead to an increase in problems related to other team members. This happens because of the initial feelings of inequity within the team. Other team members see a colleague doing something wrong and yet no action is taken, whilst they are dutifully following the rules. If the issue is not resolved it becomes an excuse for others to also break the same or other rules and creates needless friction within the team dynamic.
The first thing to do is remain calm. Shouting down the employee will simply make the situation worse as it reinforces the potential view of the manager as being unable to control the team. There may also turn out to be genuine personal issues that are causing the problem and as a Manager you do not want to be viewed as callous or uncaring. Sit quietly and consider what might be the likely reasons for the employee to act in this manner. Is it likely some previous event has upset him? The next thing to do is to speak to the employee in question and arrange a private chat to discuss the problem. Take them to a non-threatening location, preferably away from the work environment (possible over a cup of coffee) where you can have a quiet and calm conversation about why this problem is happening. Remember this is about finding out what is going on and finding a solution. Regardless of what is said, do not get drawn into an argument and remain calm. In the vast majority of cases, the team member will explain their problem to the manager and you can explain why their attitude / actions is causing a problem. Agree what action each of you will take to resolve the matter and then give the employee a written version of your agreement, as reinforcement.
Hopefully this should resolve the matter but if it continues then it is crucial that the issue should be dealt with in a more formal manner but again with the focus on resolving the problem.
One of the keys to dealing with any form of team discipline is speed. However small or large the issue, it should be dealt with as soon as is practically possible. It is vitally important for a manager to have the respect and trust of his team and leaving an issue like this un-dealt with can only have wider implications and will likely lead to an increase in problems related to other team members. This happens because of the initial feelings of inequity within the team. Other team members see a colleague doing something wrong and yet no action is taken, whilst they are dutifully following the rules. If the issue is not resolved it becomes an excuse for others to also break the same or other rules and creates needless friction within the team dynamic.
The first thing to do is remain calm. Shouting down the employee will simply make the situation worse as it reinforces the potential view of the manager as being unable to control the team. There may also turn out to be genuine personal issues that are causing the problem and as a Manager you do not want to be viewed as callous or uncaring. Sit quietly and consider what might be the likely reasons for the employee to act in this manner. Is it likely some previous event has upset him? The next thing to do is to speak to the employee in question and arrange a private chat to discuss the problem. Take them to a non-threatening location, preferably away from the work environment (possible over a cup of coffee) where you can have a quiet and calm conversation about why this problem is happening. Remember this is about finding out what is going on and finding a solution. Regardless of what is said, do not get drawn into an argument and remain calm. In the vast majority of cases, the team member will explain their problem to the manager and you can explain why their attitude / actions is causing a problem. Agree what action each of you will take to resolve the matter and then give the employee a written version of your agreement, as reinforcement.
Hopefully this should resolve the matter but if it continues then it is crucial that the issue should be dealt with in a more formal manner but again with the focus on resolving the problem.
