Excerpt from A-CHIEVE! (July 2011)

Coach’s Corner – Responding to the most Frequently Asked Questions posed by our A-CHIEVE! publication readership…

QUESTION: What is the best way to deal with a difficult employee?

RESPONSE: Oftentimes the leader asking the question is hoping for a simple “terminate the person” reply. The reality is that termination is not necessarily the right solution at that particular point in time for several reasons. As we probe further, we oftentimes discover one or more of the following conditions:

• Clear and concise expectations, deliverable accountabilities and meaningful performance measurements have not been co-established by the leader and employee. Caution: a job description typically does not fill this void because: 1) content speaks to generalities vs. specifics; 2) the employee’s role may have evolved based on business needs and therefore, might not even resemble the original job description; and 3) job descriptions rarely include metrics. We recommend presenting the data in an easy-to-understand, easy-to-reference Performance Scorecard format, so expectation specifics, including deliverables and metrics, are crystal clear.

• Clear, concise, timely and actionable performance feedback has not been discussed with the employee. Caution: conducting semi-formal or formal performance reviews even as often as once per quarter does not fill this void if: 1) on-going performance discussions are not occurring as a natural part of engaging the employee on a regular basis; and 2) the employee is not provided with specific examples of both desired and undesired behaviors plus expected results. We recommend presenting the data in an easy-to-understand, easy-to-reference START | STOP | CONTINUE format, so expectation specifics are crystal clear.

•  A leader/employee stand-off. Both parties have dug in their heels, each embracing his/her own position (point of view) vs. both parties engaging in open, honest and candid dialogue in an attempt to discover the root cause(s) of the leader/employee disconnect, which is the first step toward co-designing a workable solution. Caution: someone must assume the role of ‘adult’ in this type of scenario. We recommend that the leader be the adult and with that, adopt the right constructive conflict attitude plus demeanor which includes:

– Actively listening to vs. tuning out the employee
– Being inquisitive & curious vs. close-minded & defensive
– Posing probing questions vs. taking positional stands
– Being personable vs. warlike
– Focusing on the facts vs. being drawn into or contributing to an emotional swirl
– Seeking out the truth vs. embracing untested beliefs, assumptions & conclusions
– Engaging in discussion richness vs. discussion rightness (aka I’m right – you’re wrong)
– Solving problems vs. winning positions
– Using positive, consistent word choice, tone & body language vs. negative, incongruent language

• A leadership opportunity for self-improvement. The world is continuously evolving and so must our leadership thinking, approaches and capabilities continue to evolve. Caution: one of the most challenging aspects of working with an employee that we perceive as being ‘difficult’, is being able to look past the employee’s persona, keep an open mind, sort through their messaging and, in doing so, objectively ask ourselves “What is it about our leadership style and/or approach that may be unintentionally contributing to the employee’s negative attitude and/or behaviors? As an example, a criticism that we frequently hear as we’re helping teams improve their performance results, is leadership inconsistency – where the leadership team is saying “X” but doing “Y”. When that occurs, team members become disenfranchised to a degree where some become quietly frustrated…others drift into a state of apathy…and a few act out and quickly become our ‘problem employees’. We recommend interjecting a healthy dose of self-reflection when working with a difficult employee because we may actually be contributing to the dysfunction without even realizing it.

There is a time and a place to terminate employees who make choices that are not in the best interests of achieving organizational goals and objectives and advancing organizational agendas, but let’s make sure that, as responsible leaders, we have performed ALL of our due diligence before we arrive at that conclusion.

Check out this article plus more in A-CHIEVE! (July 2011).