Post by moon1257 on Nov 5, 2024 23:25:39 GMT -7
We have already raised the issue of unsatisfactory staff performance in the article "Why an employee does his job poorly and how to deal with it: advice for managers" . Then we considered the objective reasons why the quality or speed of a subordinate's task performance suffers. Today we will talk about staff that deliberately harms a department or company, and explain how a manager should work with such behavior of subordinates.
Why is an employee toxic?
A toxic employee and a critic shopify website design are not always the same thing. The former has malicious intent in their actions, the latter is dissatisfied with something and says so out loud. An employee dissatisfied with the processes, rules in the company or the culture is most often a “critic”, if we use eNPS terminology .
Read also
For more information on the difference between toxic employees and dissatisfied ones, read the article “Critics and Toxic Employees. How They Differ and How to Work with Them . ”
Read more
What specific actions will give away a toxic employee:
Passive aggression . A subordinate devalues the achievements of colleagues or the manager through sarcasm and jokes.
Open aggression . The employee often starts shouting, uses insults, breaks objects, etc.
Deception . The subordinate deliberately distorts information in pursuit of his own goals.
Spreading gossip . A subordinate speaks about colleagues "behind their backs" in a negative way.
Pride . The employee speaks condescendingly to colleagues or the manager. The reason for this behavior may be age or length of service in the company.
Denial . The employee shows constant dissatisfaction with his work, department, company. Does not see any way to improve the situation.
How to Discuss a Problem with an Employee in a 1-on-1 Meeting
The first thing a manager should do is schedule a 1-on-1 meeting with a toxic employee. The topic of the meeting should be announced in advance: the subordinate should know what exactly the manager is going to discuss during the one-on-one conversation and think about his behavior.
During the conversation, the manager should adhere to a number of rules. Directly name the problem and its impact on the team, the achievement of common goals . Do not beat around the bush and come up with analogies.
At the meeting, you should ask the employee what motivates him to act this way . It is permissible to show sympathy, but in no case should you justify the actions of the subordinate.
Focus on the employee's specific actions, rather than the meanings behind them . For example, discuss the inappropriateness of "rolling your eyes" or raising your voice during an argument with a colleague, rather than the opinion expressed in such a way.
The outcome of the meeting should be a solution to the problem . This could be a referral to emotional intelligence training, a list of rules, etc. The manager should also emphasize the consequences that the employee will face if the offense is repeated . For recommendations on how to conduct a difficult conversation, see the article “Conducting a difficult conversation during a 1-on-1 meeting . ”
We choose tactics depending on the behavior of the toxic employee
Toxic employees can harm a team or department in different ways. Depending on the actions they take, a manager must choose a counter-tactic.
Suppressing aggression in employees
Direct aggression from one team member can undermine the productivity of the entire team: employees are afraid of colleagues who are capable of shouting, threatening, or even attempting to kill.
First of all, the manager must explain to the aggressor subordinate that such behavior is unacceptable: it harms the atmosphere in the team and the productivity of the department.
You can suggest that the employee work on his own behavior - use self-calming tricks (count to ten if irritation or anger towards the interlocutor appears), take anger management training.
If an employee does not want to correct his behavior, giving him an ultimatum is another stunt and dismissal.
How a manager can stop aggressive attacks during team meetings:
End the conversation . If employees start to get heated, it's best to end the conversation or move on to another topic.
Provide an opportunity to leave the conversation at least temporarily if the topic cannot be changed . To do this, you can set breaks every ten minutes or on demand.
Don't give in to provocation . If an employee raises his voice, the manager should remain calm and point out that it is unacceptable to talk in such a manner.
Spotting Passive Aggression
Passive aggression, unlike overt aggression, can be veiled: an employee expresses an unflattering opinion with a joke or a jab that is not worth such a violent reaction.
To overcome passive-aggressive behavior, it is necessary to have a 1-on-1 conversation with the employee. The key topic should be a discussion of the inadmissibility of evil jokes and teasing. It is necessary to convey to the subordinate that his behavior offends colleagues and, ultimately, affects the productivity of the entire department.
People often hide behind sarcasm, cynicism from insecurity. It is necessary to carefully lead the employee to the reasons for his behavior. You can ask the following questions:
"You ridiculed your colleagues' attempt to solve the problem. Why did you think it would fail? How would you solve the problem yourself?"
"You often talk about the uselessness of Unit X. Let's look at what tasks the team performs..."
Why is an employee toxic?
A toxic employee and a critic shopify website design are not always the same thing. The former has malicious intent in their actions, the latter is dissatisfied with something and says so out loud. An employee dissatisfied with the processes, rules in the company or the culture is most often a “critic”, if we use eNPS terminology .
Read also
For more information on the difference between toxic employees and dissatisfied ones, read the article “Critics and Toxic Employees. How They Differ and How to Work with Them . ”
Read more
What specific actions will give away a toxic employee:
Passive aggression . A subordinate devalues the achievements of colleagues or the manager through sarcasm and jokes.
Open aggression . The employee often starts shouting, uses insults, breaks objects, etc.
Deception . The subordinate deliberately distorts information in pursuit of his own goals.
Spreading gossip . A subordinate speaks about colleagues "behind their backs" in a negative way.
Pride . The employee speaks condescendingly to colleagues or the manager. The reason for this behavior may be age or length of service in the company.
Denial . The employee shows constant dissatisfaction with his work, department, company. Does not see any way to improve the situation.
How to Discuss a Problem with an Employee in a 1-on-1 Meeting
The first thing a manager should do is schedule a 1-on-1 meeting with a toxic employee. The topic of the meeting should be announced in advance: the subordinate should know what exactly the manager is going to discuss during the one-on-one conversation and think about his behavior.
During the conversation, the manager should adhere to a number of rules. Directly name the problem and its impact on the team, the achievement of common goals . Do not beat around the bush and come up with analogies.
At the meeting, you should ask the employee what motivates him to act this way . It is permissible to show sympathy, but in no case should you justify the actions of the subordinate.
Focus on the employee's specific actions, rather than the meanings behind them . For example, discuss the inappropriateness of "rolling your eyes" or raising your voice during an argument with a colleague, rather than the opinion expressed in such a way.
The outcome of the meeting should be a solution to the problem . This could be a referral to emotional intelligence training, a list of rules, etc. The manager should also emphasize the consequences that the employee will face if the offense is repeated . For recommendations on how to conduct a difficult conversation, see the article “Conducting a difficult conversation during a 1-on-1 meeting . ”
We choose tactics depending on the behavior of the toxic employee
Toxic employees can harm a team or department in different ways. Depending on the actions they take, a manager must choose a counter-tactic.
Suppressing aggression in employees
Direct aggression from one team member can undermine the productivity of the entire team: employees are afraid of colleagues who are capable of shouting, threatening, or even attempting to kill.
First of all, the manager must explain to the aggressor subordinate that such behavior is unacceptable: it harms the atmosphere in the team and the productivity of the department.
You can suggest that the employee work on his own behavior - use self-calming tricks (count to ten if irritation or anger towards the interlocutor appears), take anger management training.
If an employee does not want to correct his behavior, giving him an ultimatum is another stunt and dismissal.
How a manager can stop aggressive attacks during team meetings:
End the conversation . If employees start to get heated, it's best to end the conversation or move on to another topic.
Provide an opportunity to leave the conversation at least temporarily if the topic cannot be changed . To do this, you can set breaks every ten minutes or on demand.
Don't give in to provocation . If an employee raises his voice, the manager should remain calm and point out that it is unacceptable to talk in such a manner.
Spotting Passive Aggression
Passive aggression, unlike overt aggression, can be veiled: an employee expresses an unflattering opinion with a joke or a jab that is not worth such a violent reaction.
To overcome passive-aggressive behavior, it is necessary to have a 1-on-1 conversation with the employee. The key topic should be a discussion of the inadmissibility of evil jokes and teasing. It is necessary to convey to the subordinate that his behavior offends colleagues and, ultimately, affects the productivity of the entire department.
People often hide behind sarcasm, cynicism from insecurity. It is necessary to carefully lead the employee to the reasons for his behavior. You can ask the following questions:
"You ridiculed your colleagues' attempt to solve the problem. Why did you think it would fail? How would you solve the problem yourself?"
"You often talk about the uselessness of Unit X. Let's look at what tasks the team performs..."