Old vs. New

I have been rather lax lately in keeping up with my posts. I can partially blame this on my ADD, and partially on the fact that it was the start of the best weather for rock climbing, and have been spending quite a bit of my time the last several months engaged in that in some way. I had considered combining the blogs, but decided against this course, as the two disparate subject matters would not mesh well. So, onward with two separate blogs.

I had made a post on an internet forum several months ago in response to a new manager's inquiry on how to deal with a problem employee. My response saw several other newly minted supervisors to email me and ask for some advice on how to deal with problem employees who were also older than them and had been with the company for a longer period of time. This seems to be a rather common issue, so I figured that I would share my answers here.

The way that this seems to manifest is something like, "Why won't s/he listen to me? I ask them to do their job, and they get snippy/passive-aggressive/combative with me, and they are really dragging morale into the gutter."

The solution, like it is for most problems, is to find out the root cause behind these actions while making sure to engage in a little damage control. This is a situation where simply attempting to assert your authority will ultimately result in entrenched factions sniping at each other from behind cubicle walls.

The first thing I always ask is, "Have you sat them down and spoken with them about their actions?" Most of the time, the answer is, "Yes." The next question is always, "And did the problem go away?", to which the supervisor will usually say, "No." Clearly, your communication wasn't effective. You didn't take the time to not only try and dig to the problem's root, but you did not set a clear expectation of acceptable actions and potential consequences.

Many tenured employees will "act out" for one of two reasons:
1) They feel threatened
2) They feel marginalized

In the first scenario, they may feel threatened by someone younger moving into a position of power, someone who may have shown aptitude in areas that they have not been able to suss out, or that this is a sign of them aging out of the workforce. They may also know that they are not as effective at their jobs as they could be, and this new manager may decide to change things around in a way that will see them have to work harder or be phased out (though this is not limited to older workers, but on all workers who don't do their jobs). In these cases, the worker will act out in a way to stake out their territory, or to infer that they are not intimidated by the new boss.

In the second scenario, there may be a case where they were overlooked for a promotion (possibly the same promotion that you just received), and may feel that their seniority and expertise in the organization is being overlooked. Regardless of whether or not this is true, their perception of events is what shapes how they interact with their workspace, and that perception must be taken into account.

Regardless of the scenario, the answer is always better communication. Take some time to not just speak with, but listen to, the employee. Let them air their grievances and ask them how they would suggest the issues may be fixed. A better solution is to do this out of the office, over a cup of coffee or a hot dog. This is a less intimidating environment and will help put the employee at ease. This will help you tease out the little details that will clue you in to their behavior.

The best solution is to make sure that you include them when making decisions, even if it is for just a little input here and there. If they feel as though they are being recognized for their expertise and tenure, many of the problem behaviors will start to disappear.

However, there is a flip side to this coin: don't let them run the place or run over you. If their behavior is problematic, make sure that you discuss with them what is acceptable action and what is not. Depending on the severity of their behavior, you may need to outline consequences that will occur should the behavior not improve (use a performance improvement process in this scenario, though it does not have to be a grim conversation). Explain to them the position that they put you in when they choose to act a certain way at work, whether it is them going outside of established procedures or talking trash in the break room.

Do not, under any circumstances, talk to them about attitude. This equals death. You cannot, repeat cannot coach attitude. You can, however, coach actions. Focus on their actions, and coach to their best performance.

This is a delicate balancing act, dealing with established employees, especially as a younger or first-time supervisor. I made this mistake when I was a manager at REI. There was a long-time employee in my department who clearly had a disdain for managers. I tried to simply let him do his job and speak to him minimally, you know, just stay out of his way, but this backfired. He felt as though I was not including him on decisions and not appreciating his deep knowledge of the store's inventory and product movement. This lead to him resenting me even more, and my resenting his attitude towards me. When I tried to assign him projects, they would be completed, but not to what I had imagined (though to the letter of what I asked of him), and the cycle continued. I actually tried to coach him because he refused to shake my hand one day.

I think that after that incident that I reactivated my brain and took a different approach. Rather than simply making decisions and communicating them to my staff, I started making a much more concerted effort to ask their opinions before acting. I specifically went to this "problem" employee and gave him free reign to complete the projects that he was best at, and our working relationship, while never warm, improved greatly.