A manager approached me this week after a work session to seek my advice on how she should address one of her employees. This employee is increasingly becoming Trouble (with a tall T). He is more often than not selecting which projects (and which elements of each project) he will work on. When the manager asks the employee to redirect his efforts, the employee replies in patronizing tones in front of other staff members. This employee has also failed to complete the primary project his position was created to address more than four years ago. Now other team members are complaining about this employee too. The manager asked me, “What can I do short of firing him?”
Without knowing specifically what this manager has been doing to guide and develop the employee over the past four years, it’s hard to give solid advice. However, given what she said, it does not sound as if the manager is doing a key part of her job as a manager. Here are three points I shared with her:
- Ask yourself, what kind of relationship have I developed with this employee over the past four years?
If you have not developed a connection that allows for honest talk between the two of you about his performance, your expectations, and specific project needs, you have put yourself at a disadvantage while not doing any favors for him either. As a manager, you have an obligation to immediately work on developing a professional rapport with each employee you hire. This will enable you to regularly and honestly discuss your performance expectations, needs, and concerns with each of them. That first, albeit basic, step will go a long way to prevent troubling situations like this one. If this foundation is absent, you need to consider a second step that is often (and understandably) more difficult for many managers. - Start holding yourself and your employees accountable to do the very jobs you are all paid to do.
For you, as the manager, part of your job is to ensure your employees do what they were hired to do and that you help them determine the key priorities of their jobs and then carry them out. If this means you have to overrule your employees’ opinions on what is most important, so be it. That is a component of your position and that is how you help them succeed at theirs: doing what’s important when it’s important. So if you need to have a conversation with an employee who has differing opinions than you, do it. Have that conversation today. The conversation needs to occur sooner rather than later to avoid future protracted problems that will eventually develop into troubles for an entire department. - Most work environments are focused on doing what is important and right for the customers, the company, and all of the employees – not what is important to any one employee.
In situations like this, ensure that all of your employees understand that most work environments do not revolve around the desires and needs of any one employee. They should know that as their manager, you are there to help them help the company, the customers, and their colleagues. The saying, “It’s not about you; it’s about them” helps sum up this idea. When you can all focus on that, everyone will benefit.
As you reflect on this situation, ask yourself, “Am I doing my job? Am I building comfortable work relationships with my employees? Can I honestly talk with them about my concerns and expectations? Do I hold them accountable for certain tasks and performance standards? Do I support them individually, while ensuring the entire organization moves forward?”
Being a manager is a tough job, but someone has to do it. And, since it is YOUR job–do it well.
Copyright MMXI – Liz Weber, CMC, CSP – Weber Business Services, LLC – www.WBSLLC.com +1.717.597.8890
Liz supports clients with strategic and succession planning, as well as leadership training and executive coaching. Learn more about Liz on LinkedIn!
