Coaching Problem Employees

Dear HBR Podcast: Coaching Problem Employees episode discusses following situations:

New employee is slacking off

Things to check in such scenarios discussed in podcast:

  • If Team member recognizes the issue and need for change
  • If person is open for process for assistance to change the behaviour
  • If person is willing and ready to be coached by their manager

A new hire needs to adjust to organization’s culture and communication style:

Resilient new employee to take on tough feedback from colleagues

It might be difficult to coach a defensive person. Try by talking through:

  • How team member would like to be perceived in team in long term
  • How currently being perceived
  • What current behaviours are contributing to these perceptions?
  • What modified behaviours are needed to achieve desired perceptions?

Make sure to emphasize that single incident does not define the perception. Provide some tools for self-assessment and emotional intelligence.

Other delicate balance to achieve here is to make sure other team members do not hold on to give direct feedback.

Two direct reports who are in conflict

  • Discuss about the origin of conflict and how the reaction could have been different
  • Try to coach on function together in better fashion
  • Address any unacceptable behaviours, make sure to draw the line
  • Stress on resentment impacting performance. Put on the manager’s hat and emphasis on clear performance expectations
  • Check if situation is broaden at team level and convey the same

How to Motivate Your Problem People

HBR: How to Motivate Your Problem People provides few situations with problem people and a new approach to motivation instead of traditional slap motivation onto the person method.

  1. Create a Rich Picture: Fact-finding mission without any dislike, negative feelings getting into way and keeping aside narrow mind set
  2. Reframe Your Goals: Putting together an array of possible outcomes instead of one predetermined solution
  3. Stage the Encounter: Open discussion starting with affirmative assertion (affirm past, future contributions and assert the issue in hand) and then proceed with leverage questioning

How to Manage a Stubborn, Defensive, or Defiant Employee

HBR: How to Manage a Stubborn, Defensive, or Defiant Employee describes characteristics for consistently oppositional team members as:

  • actively debate
  • ignore feedback
  • refuse to follow instructions
  • provide negative comments about new initiatives

Approaches to manage such team members:

  • Adjust job responsibilities to leverage their strengths
  • Temporarily overlook individual style while the person adjusts to their new circumstances
  • It’s worth considering that they may be right

It also mentions the important aspect of making sure to draw the line whenever inappropriate behaviour happens. Also, making sure to emphasize on such team members cannot take their own performance as reason to overrun organizational culture or values cannot be tolerated.