Difficult Employees: How to Manage

What do you consider the most important quality in a manger who successfully manages employees, especially the difficult ones? I believe role modeling healthy behavior is a key component in every successful manager’s repertoire.

 There are lots of examples of problem employees. Two books I would definitely recommend on the subject are Managing Difficult People by Marilyn Pincus and Managing Government Employees by Stewart Liff. Getting to know your employees, knowing what their strengths and weaknesses are, treating each employee as an individual and knowing how to balance motivating your employees and advocating for them are all a part of successful management.

Let’s look at role modeling healthy behavior and each of these components as it deals with problem employees. If you act out when you don’t get your way, if you collude with your employees against your boss or the company, if you lose your temper and communicate in inappropriate ways, then you are not role modeling healthy behavior. I have been appalled at how many employees, I supervised, were afraid to talk to me because they had a former supervisor who yelled at them on a regular basis. If this is you, then your quest in learning to deal with employees needs to start with you dealing with your own issues.

Anybody who has ever supervised has probably encountered the brilliant employee who can deal with, fix, figure out, network like no other employee you have ever had. We have also had that same employee with such a bad habit that it keeps us awake at night. Do you get rid of that employee? Probably not, but you may need to figure out a way to deal with him/her so that you don’t lose the rest of your employees. This is where treating each as an individual comes in.

Depending on your company, agency or set-up, there are usually certain guidelines which each employee has to abide by. Aside from those, there is usually lots of room to be creative and find out what perks fit for each employee, what motivates each employee and what is an acceptable level of performance, quota, behavior, separately but equally.

If you have a difficult employee, or two, I encourage you to check out the books I have mentioned and try to implement some of the ideas I have shared. I wish you success.