You're dealing with a difficult employee. How can you get them to work more effectively?

Difficult employees aren’t difficult by nature. If they were, you wouldn’t hire them. All too often, an employee acts out because of something going on in their life. It could be that the employee is: • Unhappy in their job • Frustrated with coworkers • Dealing with personal issues When you identify the cause of their behavior, you can take steps to help the employee and remedy the underlying issue as much as possible.

In my view any person can be difficult in certain situations. While dealing with a difficult person one must clearly understand our objective, other individual's perspective, issues, thoughts, situation, and condition etc - EI. Those who are already declared difficult and we know them, are the most easy to handle 😉 Real test is when a normal person behaves abnormally. We must try to know the actual reason for such behavior. If you can't find the reason, then standard methods of active listening and trying to understand their perspective before responding will do. But if you are in doubt, you may start by certain abnormal act to change the situation.

First step is to have a candid 121 meeting with the team member. Be prepared when you go into the meeting. Have detailed profile info about him. Then try to identify the reason. Is it a confusing JD, inaccessible resources, personality clash or any other irritant. Ensure your expectations, targets and KPIs alongwith rewards are clearly explained. Guide him on how to achieve those targets, where to get resources, how to manage timelines, mediate if there is an inter department issue etc. It should be followed by documented minutes of meeting for later reference. Then closely monitor the performance and behavior. Give constructive feedback and reward immediately.

- Understand the trigger - Basis the root cause of trigger set the conversation & context which allows the individual to open up ! - Time to action : Engage, empower and recognition. This for sure shall get the individual’s focus back and be a team player.

In my perspective difficult employee is a very vague definition. It’s every leaders responsibility to understand why the employee behavior is not as expected, talk to the employee by understanding what are their challenges wholistically (professional, personal and emotional/ psychological) and provide him/help with the support required. Motivate them at work and be available for them. In general no one wants to be difficult on purpose. It is either situational or their past experiences leading to their behavior. I believe it’s partly a leader’s failure if they cannot help their team be successful. We don’t need a leader to lead a great team but we need a leader knowing everyone is unique in their skills and attitude and bring the best out!

Go the physician way: - Understand the symptoms - Check if the problem can be resolved without 'the pill' - know the triggers that cause the symptoms that cause the difficulty - evaluate the extent of treatment required. Would plain rest do, placebo would do, mild medication required or strong medicines required - the intervention has to be just what is required, neither more, nor less Most important: - continuous monitoring - Follow-ups - Attack the root, not the visible symptoms - Your intervention has to be personal and visible, not through assistants or remote or indirect.

Active listening is the key while dealing with a difficult employee. Sometimes it just needs some empathy and hearing ear to address the issue.

Dialogue: One of the most important step is to discuss and understand the root-cause, so ideally a 1:1 meeting to have an open conversation: (a) Discuss & understand the problem statement/s: Very important to have active listening skills to really understand what the employee is concerned about. Sometime all it requires is an ear to listen without any argument. (b) Remember to address the problem, not the person. Ensure bias doesn't creep in while listening. (c) Offer and discuss solutions, there is no point in dragging the problems and playing any blame games. (d) Motivate: a few words of motivation and encouragement goes a long way!

In my experience, difficult conversations should always be done face to face and after setting up the right context and environment.

📝When faced with a challenging employee, collaboration is key to finding a solution that benefits both the individual and the team. Begin by initiating an open and honest conversation to understand their concerns and motivations. 🔹Listen actively and empathetically, demonstrating your willingness to address their needs. Together, brainstorm a plan for improvement that outlines clear goals, expectations, and support mechanisms. 🔹Encourage the employee to take ownership of their development while offering guidance and resources to help them succeed. By fostering a collaborative approach, you can empower the employee to work more effectively while strengthening your working relationship.

Dealing with a difficult co worker is an end to end process, from problem identification to offering a solution plan to overcome his/her difficulty . This whole process should be emcompassed by clear communication and constructive feedback. It is easy to mention the co worker is difficult but it has to be co worked with him /her to over come the difficulty or clearly put forward the consequence.

I had a manager reporting to me who had lost a good deal of confidence in her strengths as n HR manager as a couple of the operations teams leads had repeatedly openly contradicted her in public when it did not suit them. We met several times before she admitted to this and agreed to be coached to repair her self worth. Together we started working on the performance management system for the up coming reviews. As it became more critical I feigned a need to be working elsewhere and delegated the project to her. It was a success and she was seen as the leader of the Performance Review project for the year. She received a lot of plaudits and thanks for ensuring its success. It went a long way to resetting her self prestige.

In collaborating with the employee, do not forget to distill the obvious causes of the problem and the latent ones (particularly those that are not so obvious to the employees and/or seem not connected to the current problem). Without a holistic plan, the purported agreement will not yield the desired outcome, namely, to improve the situation as opposed to a "disguised exit plan".

As a supervisor you need to develop intimacy with the employee to understand the reason for dereliction of duty. He might not like the portion of the work assigned to him or he might be feeling that he has been assigned with the most challenging aspect of the job compared to other colleagues. Many times employees see the bias in the work behaviour of supervisors which is very difficult to know since employees usually don't open up. Instilling confidence in employees to come up and discuss the matter threadbear. The supervisor should be upfront in responding to the queries. At times the task is not explained properly and it is the initiation of the supervisor to explain at length and ensure that the task is understood by the employee.

In my experience, consistent monitoring and follow-up demonstrate commitment to the employee's success while ensuring accountability and progress towards improvement. Keep track of the employee's tasks, deadlines, and performance regularly. Offer constructive feedback on their progress, highlighting areas of improvement. Maintain an open line of communication to address concerns and provide guidance. Clarify expectations and goals to ensure alignment and accountability. Adapt approaches based on ongoing feedback and observations to optimize effectiveness.

In such situations, a leader should always start by asking themselves "why should someone work for/ with them?" They should create some actions for themselves recognising that none of us are perfect as leaders but WIP. Once we have set a target for ourselves, we should have frequent transparent conversations around what needs to change in employee's actions/ behaviour. The leader needs to clearly explain how those behaviours/actions derails or impacts team deliverables/ image/ larger org goals etc. Provide opportunity to the employee to share their perspective on the situation. The employee should feel that she and the leader are together in this journey.

When working with a difficult employee, it's crucial to begin with the end in mind and have a clear plan for monitoring progress. At the first meeting, set a recurring follow-up cadence on the calendar. Include an agenda and expectations in the invite. A regular check-in shows your commitment to addressing the issue. During each session, provide both constructive feedback and recognition for improvements. Take detailed notes to document the discussion. After each meeting, send a follow-up email summarizing key points and next steps. This serves as a record and starts a documentation trail if progressive discipline becomes necessary. Be patient yet persistent. Meaningful change rarely happens overnight. And don't forget to connect with HR.

Assess the situation. Before you take any action, you need to assess the situation and understand the root cause of the difficulty. Communicate effectively. Collaborate on a plan. Provide coaching and support. Involve other stakeholders. Learn from the experience.

When following up with a leader after issuing corrective action, I find it perplexing to learn that they have not been meeting regularly with the employee on the very action plan that was agreed upon. It can be as simple as telling the employee, “I want to see you succeed. Let’s talk about how you’re succeeding on this plan.” And then hold the employee accountable for making it happen. And no need to take it all in one fell swoop: note and celebrate the wins along the way.

I don't believe in escalation. Issues could be resolved along with employees. Escalation could lead to unneeded complications.

The escalators always supports in coordinating tough situations. I believe the employee is not tough however the situation is. The first thing one may note that is communicating in right direction can turn the situation in win win however win loose situations need escalation. The escalation is learnt from Mahabharata that matters to be resolved by adding seniors with fair and just attitude. This method is proven to bring amicable solution like the situation arise in a family. You may try this adjudication and get the better results.

In my experience, if you have covered the issue with an employee more than once, you need to find a solution that doesn't resolve into white noise. Escalation sounds mean, but ensuring employees understand where they are on the discipline map is essential for everyone. Document your shared understanding.

I find escalation is most common in situations where the employee is not self-aware, thinks everyone else is wrong, and has not spent time or energy on self-reflection. Fixed mindsets. Usually they're as unhappy as the employer is with them. Commonly before escalation, I have a human-to-human conversation about their happiness, life being short, and that there needs to be improvement in performance and morale, or we have to take a path that's painful for all parties. It's amazing how many employees are stuck and can't take a step for themselves, but with a nudge from an employer can finally find a company and a role where they "fit" and are much happier.

Working with a difficult employee can be challenging but also an opportunity for personal and professional growth. Open communication is the key to listening to their concerns and understanding what might be causing their difficulties. Setting clear expectations in terms of their job responsibilities, performance standards, and behavior in the workplace. This could be done through training and mentorship programs.

Another is simply get to know your employee. What motivates them, how do they want to be managed, what are their goals. Sometimes we give them tasks and they don't do it because they don't see the value in it or don't see why they should do it. I've had a direct report whose motivation is money earned. Nothing wrong there. I gave the person tasks that fed her scorecard which resulted to incentives. I would also increase the target slightly so that she pushes for the highest score to get a higher incentive. Then I would allow her to propose initiatives and we'd sit down and discuss as partners. Again, it's just finding out what would drive your employee to succeed.

A good manager/leader should be attentive and show themselves available to help their employees grow and improve not only their performance but also as individuals as a whole. What's the point of being highly productive if you don't feel integrated and part of a whole? I believe that to be happy and fulfilled, it has to be in various dimensions, and we should strive to make "our" people happy because, after all, it's at work where we spend most of our day, so why not strive to ensure better and happier days?

By prioritizing learning and growth, we empower difficult employees to reach their full potential and contribute positively to the team. Clear objectives to focus efforts and track progress. Acknowledge and reward efforts to motivate learning and growth. Offer resources, mentorship, and guidance to facilitate learning. Create an environment that values continuous improvement and innovation.

Any problem emerges in work environment it is a lesson learned to prevent from happening again and highlight the weakness points in the process. it is a lesson for both employee and employer in order to grow you need to learn from what happened in past to plan for better future

Using compassion and empathy as a leader to understand the why. Finding out why they are a ‘difficult’ employee and getting to the root of the behaviour. Ensuring that as a leader you being inclusive in your approach and initiating steps 1 - 7 to achieve the business objectives.

Show understanding and concern for their perspective and challenges. Clearly articulate job expectations and how their behavior impacts the team. Identify what motivates them and align incentives with performance improvement. Offer coaching or training opportunities to address skill gaps or behavioral issues. Establish a constructive feedback loop, allowing for open dialogue and mutual agreement on progress.

1. Understand the genesis of employee being difficult. a. It could be a real time engagement issue. b. It could be a personality issue c. Simple things made it difficult and no underlying issues. 2. Work out your discussion with the employee and understand which category it falls. 3. Most of the issues related to performance and engagement will be solvable with empathetic involvement of HR, manager and skip level. 4. When it seems unsolvable and in contradiction with organization's value and culture, work out a smooth exit plan. 5. Take expert counsellor support before you decide on point 4.

One of the first things I have seen overlooked time and time again across all employees and volunteers is management accountability. So often we forget the fundamentals and why we have employees, for maintaining and growth of your business. We have structures in place with management teams including owner operators and these need to be fine tuned to make sure the investment is returned. Your employees with investment of time and support will not become troublesome when given the right focus and support to thrive.

In my view, if you have hired a candidate it means he/she is suitable for the role. But if the same employee is finding it difficult to perform then it's a matter of concern. Firstly, do not judge them immediately as non performer. Have a private conversation with them to know what's bothering them, this can be related to personal life or professional life (tasks, team etc). At times a simple push or words of support encouragement and confidence can go a long way. Then accordingly try and counsel them regularly and show empathy that we are standing with them as a family. If not above then analyze is it the job profile and if yes then tag them to team members who can mentor and guide them till they are able to cope.

Take into account any external factors that may be contributing to the employee's difficulties, such as personal issues or workload pressures. Be empathetic and offer support where possible. Additionally, consider whether there are any systemic issues within the organization that may be affecting multiple employees and address them accordingly.