"When managing difficult people, if it isn't written down,
it's as if it didn't happen." Colleen Kettenhofen
Many managers and supervisors are promoted to management
positions based on their hard skills. Yet few of them have
had training in the area of managing people. Especially
managing difficult people. In conducting seminars on
managing people, one challenge I hear managers and
supervisors face nowadays is how to manage a difficult
employee. You can't control them, but you can control their
environment in the hopes of coaching the employee to better
performance.
Here are 10 Management Tips for Managing Difficult People:
1. Document, document, document. As far as the courts are
concerned, if it isn't written down it's as if it didn't
happen. Even if you have a prospective employee sign a form
saying they know they can be terminated at any time,
without cause, and without warning or reason. You never
want to terminate without proper documentation. Terminating
an employee without cause, reason, or prior warning, can
make it easier for the difficult person to win a wrongful
termination lawsuit.
2. Document training and coaching. Any type of training you
provide for your difficult employee is considered coaching.
In managing difficult people, many managers assume the
documentation is to build a case for termination. It is
not! It's really to show everything you did to try and
salvage the difficult employee. This includes any and all
training. Whether you trained the employee, someone else
trained them, or you sent them to a seminar to be coached
to better performance.
3. Avoid the word "attitude." In managing difficult people,
why would you want to avoid saying something like, "Pat, I
don't like your attitude?" Because it's too subjective.
It's not specific enough.
4. Focus instead on specific behaviors or the quality of
their work. For example, what should you do if every time
you delegate a special project to the difficult person,
they fold their arms, exhale loudly, roll their eyes, and
sarcastically mutter under their breath, "Okay, whatever?!"
You would want to say in a low controlled tone something
like, "Pat, every time I delegate a special project to you,
the arms are folded, you're rolling your eyes, muttering
under your breath, 'Okay, whatever.' What seems to be the
cause of this?" Notice I listed specific behaviors. So
focus on facts.
5. Be objective, not subjective. As mentioned, when
managing difficult people, be objective by mentioning
specific behaviors, or specific declines in the quality of
their work. For example, when documenting the employee's
"attitude," you might document the following: "Every time I
delegated a special project to Pat so-and-so, he/she would
fold their arms, exhale loudly, roll their eyes, and mutter
under their breath, "Okay, whatever!" Now, if this were
ever read by a jury, or your Human Resources department if
you have one, or your manager, they would have a clear
picture of this person's attitude.
"When managing difficult people, it's imperative that you
make their goals and objectives measurable, specific,
quantifiable, and in writing for accountability."
6. Provide specific examples of the behavior or quality of
work you want. Put it in writing for accountability. When
managing difficult people, it's imperative that as their
manager or supervisor, you're making their goals and
objectives clear. For example, if they're doing clerical
work, they are to, "Correct and proofread all required
reports for the quality control department." Or if they're
in customer service, and example of a measurable,
quantifiable, specific goal would be that they are to,
"Respond to all customer complaints within 48 hours of
receiving them." If they're in manufacturing, they are to,
"Produce 35% more wingbats by December 15 of this year. "
You get the idea.
7. Be aware of how you present yourself. When managing
difficult people, remember, you are their role model. Be
aware of your eye contact. Typically look at the person for
two to five seconds. You don't want to stare at them bug
eyed! But you also don't want to avoid looking at them
because you'll come across as too passive, too wishy-washy.
They'll sense you're fearful of confrontation.
Having lots of eye contact can be difficult for some people
because in some cultures, children are brought up that it's
disrespectful to have eye contact with their elders. It can
be difficult to unlearn these habits. Also, watch your tone
of voice. Use a low controlled tone. Be aware of your body
language, too. Study after study shows that fully 93% of
what people notice and believe about you in face-to-face
communication is based on your tone and body language.
8. Be very clear and concise in spelling out the
consequences of what could happen if they don't improve.
For example, if this is a verbal warning, you might say to
the employee, "You know our policy here, and right now this
is a verbal warning. As it says in our handbook, if there
isn't sustainable and maintained improvement including and
beyond the next thirty days, it could result in further
disciplinary action. Or, it could even result in
termination." In managing difficult people, one of the
golden rules is you don't want the employee to ever be able
to say that they "weren't warned." Or, "I didn't know. You
didn't tell me that."
9. Get at the root cause of what is causing the employee to
be difficult in the first place. For example, do they
simply not like their job? Would they rather be in a
different department? Are there personal issues going on
with the difficult person that you need to know about?
While it's not your business to know what they do outside
of work, it is your business if it's something that's
affecting their work performance.
You can simply say to the difficult person, "Is everything
okay? Is there anything going on that I need to know about?
Because this drop in performance just doesn't seem like
you. As your manager/supervisor I want to see you succeed.
And I've noticed a real decline in the quality of your
work, for example...." Then, give very specific examples.
Remember, be objective not subjective. Focus on facts.
Attack the problem not the difficult person. Attack the
behavior not the person.
In managing difficult people, a lot of this is
common-sense. Yet, as mentioned earlier, most managers,
supervisors and team leaders are promoted to leadership
positions based on the fact that they were doing a great
job. But that doesn't mean they know how to instinctively
manage difficult people.
10. In managing difficult people, have follow up
performance-related meetings with the difficult employee.
For two reasons: First, it's what the courts want to see.
Second, it does the employee a great disservice if they
make a big turn-around and you don't acknowledge it. Have
a date and a time in writing for when you and the difficult
person are going to meet again. And do meet! According to
research one of the main reasons employee improvement plans
fail is lack of follow-up on the part of the manager.
"When managing difficult people, most of us know what to
do. We just don't always 'do' with what we know." Colleen
Kettenhofen
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Colleen Kettenhofen is a Phoenix, Arizona speaker,author
and workplace expert. She is co-author of The Masters of
Success, featured on NBC's Today Show. For free video
clips, articles, e-newsletter visit
http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com Colleen is available for
keynotes, breakout sessions and seminars by calling
(800)323-0683. colleen@colleenspeaks.com
http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com
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