Sometimes an employee can be nasty, bullying, or
simply hard-hearted. What should you do, though, when
that person also happens to be a top performer?
simply hard-hearted. What should you do, though, when
that person also happens to be a top performer?
1. Let me criticize a bit the behavior of Jane.
Seems like she is a bit dispersed.
On the one side – she is saying, that she would like to concentrate on solving more strategically important questions, like focusing on numbers, products, customers and etc.
And on the other side – she wants to build the ‘right’ team and help them in every way.
In such way, none of the processes will run effective.
What concerns the team work.
I am strongly convinced, that personal conflicts should be solved inside the group, but not with the interference of the boss.
That’s good if manager can see what is wrong (better from communication, than from the bad results of teamwork) and can influence independently.
But it goes like this, when someone is complaining about colleague, and he\she sees the result of this compliant. It gives him an instrument on pushing the boss, and others – disrespect or offence to the boss and negative attitude to the colleague.
It happens sometimes, that employees complain to you. I think the best way – is to hear the problem. Show your understanding, importance of a person. And ask to solve the conflict by themselves (like to play the role of psychoanalyst or advisor). Here can be wrong thing, if employee will think, that boss does not want to help him, he does not care and etc.
But this works. Either the team becomes stronger or the wrong person, ‘rara avis’, is defined.
2. Solution.
Anyway. The world is not ideal. And management skills should be improved all the time in today’s world.
I agree with the Chuck McKenzie statement "In the real world, managers need to carve out
places for unpleasant, highly productive people - places, that keep them from poisoning everyone else's working environment.'
So if this happened two times (demonstrating such a behavior) , it will happen all the time.
The solution depends on the company’s specifics:
1) either profit is about a team work,
or
2) profit is about teams and people as well.
If it is 2, then definitely Andy should have a separate direction or project or whatever he would like to perform and improve his strong skills (closing eyes on his weaknesses).
If it is 1, then we need to teach him work with people.
Seems like she is a bit dispersed.
On the one side – she is saying, that she would like to concentrate on solving more strategically important questions, like focusing on numbers, products, customers and etc.
And on the other side – she wants to build the ‘right’ team and help them in every way.
In such way, none of the processes will run effective.
What concerns the team work.
I am strongly convinced, that personal conflicts should be solved inside the group, but not with the interference of the boss.
That’s good if manager can see what is wrong (better from communication, than from the bad results of teamwork) and can influence independently.
But it goes like this, when someone is complaining about colleague, and he\she sees the result of this compliant. It gives him an instrument on pushing the boss, and others – disrespect or offence to the boss and negative attitude to the colleague.
It happens sometimes, that employees complain to you. I think the best way – is to hear the problem. Show your understanding, importance of a person. And ask to solve the conflict by themselves (like to play the role of psychoanalyst or advisor). Here can be wrong thing, if employee will think, that boss does not want to help him, he does not care and etc.
But this works. Either the team becomes stronger or the wrong person, ‘rara avis’, is defined.
2. Solution.
Anyway. The world is not ideal. And management skills should be improved all the time in today’s world.
I agree with the Chuck McKenzie statement "In the real world, managers need to carve out
places for unpleasant, highly productive people - places, that keep them from poisoning everyone else's working environment.'
So if this happened two times (demonstrating such a behavior) , it will happen all the time.
The solution depends on the company’s specifics:
1) either profit is about a team work,
or
2) profit is about teams and people as well.
If it is 2, then definitely Andy should have a separate direction or project or whatever he would like to perform and improve his strong skills (closing eyes on his weaknesses).
If it is 1, then we need to teach him work with people.
I would recommend to do with Andy, just to find the same type of person (may be in the other department or somewhere), and let him get into such situation. He will be the member of the team, and there will be another ‘star’, pushing everyone.
Psychologically, this can work for him and the team.
In general – it is better, when such people work by themselves mostly, because if we push them, we will get neither a professional performer, nor a good team-worker.
1 comment:
Hi Zinaida,
Thank you; that's an interesting take on the literature.
Unfortunately the review is incomplete; it should have included at least 2 articles.
Veronica
Post a Comment