Is it You or Is it Me? Dealing With “Difficult” Employees

Everyone thinks that managing your own team or running your own business is a relatively easy thing to do. As the saying goes, with the right team, anything is possible. So what happens when you end up in a situation when you have a difficult employee that you need to deal with?

In most cases, it is quite easy to put the blame on the employee and chalk it down to insubordination. But sometimes, there is more to it than that. Sometimes, instead of looking to the employee for blame, you need to ask yourself if there is something that you need to do differently. So as a business owner or team manager, what are some of the things that you need to consider when dealing with difficult employees? What are some of the things that you should consider before taking the heavy-handed approach?

Seeing Things From the Other Side

One of the best things that you can do as a boss for your team is to see things from their perspective. Sometimes, there are difficulties that they face that they may not want to discuss because of your seniority, for example. These are some of the issues that you need to think about when dealing with “difficult” employees in the workplace:

Communication

So yes, you may all be speaking the same language but that doesn’t all mean that you are on the same page at all times. Your employees may hear you but are they listening? Is the manner in which you convey your message easy for them to absorb and thoroughly understand?

Perhaps you should really get to know each of them individually and find out what works best for each one and use those individual methods to get across to all of them effectively. Because after all, the better they understand, the better they do their work, and the more your business grows.

Generational and Cultural Gaps

This can be a particularly touchy subject but definitely, one that needs to be taken seriously. Sometimes misunderstandings can arise from generational or cultural differences. As the person in charge, you should try to adapt yourself to your team so that they can feel more comfortable around you. If they are comfortable, they are more likely to tell you about things that bother them or generational and cultural issues that need to be addressed.

Sometimes, something as simple as not including emojis in your texts can be misconstrued as you being cold. So again, the key lies in getting to know your team really well.

Expectations vs. Deliverables

Sometimes you may find yourself wondering why these “difficult” employees aren’t doing what you are asking them to. That is the perfect time for some introspection. Ask yourself if you are making yourself clear in terms of what your expectations are. And sometimes, it is best to receive the first iteration of what you have asked for and to make suggestions on how they can change their work to meet your expectations.

By doing this, you are setting the precedent for what you expect from their future work. And if you do this enough, hopefully, there will come a day where your expectations match the deliverables the first time around.

Setting and Communicating Standards

You know how you would want something to look based on how you would do it. That doesn’t mean that everyone would do it the same way. So, to get all of the work to the standard that you want it, make sure that you communicate your standards effectively.

One of the ways that you can do this is by creating SOP (standard operating procedures) for your team. That way, they know the standards that you are expecting and will hopefully adhere to them. You can also develop an SOP for yourself for evaluating everyone’s work, so that you know that everyone is being held to the same standard.

Changing Your Mindset

Sometimes some introspection is just what the doctor ordered. There comes a time where you need to have a moment to just figure out whether the problem is with the “difficult” employee or whether it is you. One of the ways to evaluate this is to check whether you are having issues with just one employee or with many of them. If the answer is many, then perhaps you should think about whether there is anything that you may be doing wrong. By doing this, you can improve not only for yourself but for your whole team, too.

Problem- vs. Solution-Oriented

Change how you see the world and the world changes around you. One of the most cliche sayings of all time but so true, more often than not. You need to figure out whether you are fixated on problems or solutions. This is not to say that finding problems is a bad thing. But once you do find them, you need to be solution-oriented and fix those problems. And what’s even better is coming up with solutions collaboratively with your team.

Some Final Thoughts

Good leadership can make the world of difference in the efficiency and productivity of any team. So what you may need is a moment to just improve yourself as a leader for the sake of your team. This means taking the time to understand them as individuals so that you know what you need to do to bring out the best in them.

With the world changing as quickly as it has and with the new element of remote work coming into play, you need to adapt to it. So keep yourself up to date and remember that you are never too “old” to learn new tricks. “Difficult” doesn’t mean untrainable. And that goes for yourself, too.

Originally posted on https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardfdalton/