Author: Ivonne Faerber
_Ivonne Faerber_
Reading time: 20 minutes
Synopsis
This book, Umgang mit schwierigen Mitarbeitern (2016), is about what the title says. It explains the main reasons why employees do not perform as their managers want. It also gives advice on how to handle these situations. This includes tips for talking with employees and understanding the legal rules.
What is inside for you: Help for managers who have problems with their employees.
You probably have one too, right? That one employee or colleague who makes you roll your eyes, gives you a stomach ache, or makes you want to run away. It’s normal not to get along with everyone. But if you are a manager, you often don’t get to choose who you work with every day. Sometimes, employees who you don’t like, or who you feel are not helping, are on your team.
This is when managing people becomes hard. How do you deal with people who block things, are rebellious, complain a lot, or are lazy? You need to be sensitive and understand people’s minds. You also need the right attitude and knowledge of employment laws. In the next parts, you will learn about different types of difficult employees. You will find out how to best handle them. We will also explain the general rules and what kind of leadership and company culture can make it easier to deal with such special cases.
Blink 1 – You have different tools to manage difficult employees.
We just don’t get along with some people. And we don’t have to. But if you are a manager, it’s different. Luckily, you cannot just fire people because you don’t like them. You can only take real action if employees do not do the work they are paid for. But when does bad or low performance start? And what do you do if an employee performs well, but poisons the team spirit?
The last question is not easy to answer. Just like every person is different, problems at work also show up in many different ways. So, you must find individual solutions. But there are some common “classic” problems that employees create for their managers. Sometimes, motivation is low. Or personal reasons stop someone from working well. Sometimes, certain beliefs or attitudes get in the way. Or someone simply rebels against their manager. Another common and tiring situation is when an employee behaves badly but does not see the problem themselves. We will look at some of these cases in the next parts.
You basically have many management tools to guide your employees in the right direction. For example, you can clarify job requirements, give feedback, explain the purpose of their work, or offer more training. That sounds good. If these don’t work, you can use goal agreements or coaching talks. Or you can simply use your power as a manager and give a clear order. If even that doesn’t help, things get serious. You might be able to move an employee, warn them, give a formal warning, or, in the worst case, fire them. But which tool should you use and when? First, you need to be sensitive. Second, especially for the “tougher” actions, you need to know the legal rules you must follow. If you are unsure, you should also ask someone from the works council for help.
Blink 2 – Four common mind games are popular with difficult employees.
Let’s be honest, in some ways, managers and employees are natural opponents. Employees want good pay, a good work-life balance, freedom to make decisions, job security, and interesting tasks. And managers? They want good performance and to reach their goals. It’s not always easy to make these fit together. Because employees and managers are linked by the company, even if they don’t always get along, situations often arise where an employee plays mind games. This is true for managers too, of course, but that’s a different story. Employees often choose one of these four games.
- The “Yes-But Game.” Here, the employee has an objection to every suggestion you make. The reason is usually that this employee does not want to take responsibility or deal with problems themselves. They just want to stay in their comfort zone. If you see this game, you should first find out why the employee avoids responsibility. Then, you must delegate tasks firmly. Do not keep making new, different suggestions. When delegating, questions like: “What do you need to do this task?” or “How could you solve this problem?” can help you.
- The “Stupid Game.” In this game, the employee keeps asking the same questions. Why? Usually, they just want attention and care. Or, even worse, they just want to talk instead of working. What do you do in this case? You explain everything to the employee clearly one last time. You ask them to write down all the important steps. Another idea is to ask the employee to think of three possible answers themselves for each question. They should try these answers before coming back to you.
- The “Wooden Leg Game.” Here, the employee exaggerates a personal problem to avoid all kinds of tasks. This is sensitive. Because there are really problems that stop someone from doing certain tasks well. But if it is a game, the reason is often that the employee does not want changes. In this case, it often helps to break the new task into small, easy steps. This helps to take away their fear.
- The “Oh-How Terrible Game.” In this game, the employee constantly complains and whines. This is often because they want sympathy. Or it is just how they are: Some people need to complain together to feel connected to someone. So, joining in a little often helps here. Agree with what is really not good. This creates a “we” feeling. Then, ask specific questions to help solve the situation together in a good way. Do you feel the employee is only pretending to have problems? You can talk about this directly and find out what is really going on.
You see: For all mind games, the key is to understand why they are being played.
So much for situations where you constantly face the same unproductive behavior, like in Groundhog Day. In the next parts, we will look at some reasons why problems with employees happen.
Blink 3 – If there is a lack of motivation, you can offer a deal.
If an employee does not perform as you expect, you might first think they are not motivated. There are some signs that this is true. For example, they explain why they are not good for a certain task. Or they make excuses to avoid taking on the task. Or they are just completely without energy and do their tasks carelessly. Then your employee probably really has a problem with motivation. The good news is that you can generally assume that everyone has motivation inside them. The employee probably just has tasks that don’t interest them. And you can start there.
Take Dr. Sieben, for example. She is a specialist in Human Resources Development for a large retail group. Before this, she was a research assistant at the university. Her doctorate degree is important to her. In her department, she handles general HR development questions. She organizes internal seminars. She also works on two projects that get a lot of attention in the company. She works hard on the projects, but she neglects her other tasks. For example, several managers have complained that they wait a long time for Dr. Sieben to answer standard questions about individual seminars. Often, the seminars are also poorly organized. A speaker might even show up on a different day than the participants.
You guess it: Dr. Sieben is not motivated for her daily work. She wants to focus on the projects. Dr. Sieben’s manager should first understand her motivation. He will find out that Dr. Sieben is motivated by status symbols like titles. She also likes challenging tasks with a lot of freedom to make decisions. Routine work does not give her this.
A possible deal almost suggests itself. The manager could explain to Dr. Sieben that she still needs to do her routine tasks reliably. Good performance in this area would recommend her for more projects. He should clearly define what good performance in routine tasks means to him. He should also set dates to review the progress with Dr. Sieben.
Employees are usually willing to make a deal about motivation. However, you must only promise things that you can really keep later. Otherwise, your employee will lose trust in you. And then you will have a really difficult employee.
Blink 4 – If an employee performs less due to personal reasons, you should talk about the problem with understanding and find an agreement.
We all know that private life can sometimes affect our job. For example, a breakup or a family fight can quickly make it hard for us to focus. We might not have energy for work. This is normal. But what can a manager do if personal reasons truly lead to a longer and serious drop in performance?
Let’s look at the example of Mr. Clemens. He is usually a dedicated manager in product management. He wants to be promoted in the next few years. But for some weeks, he has been pulling back more and more. He often comes late, leaves early, and seems unfocused. An employee spoke to him about it. Mr. Clemens snapped back: “It’s nothing, mind your own business!”
In such a case, the manager should take three steps: an employee meeting, a decision, and an agreement.
- For the employee meeting, you need empathy. In companies with a trusting culture, the employee often approaches the manager first. This makes things easier. The conversation should happen in a friendly atmosphere. The manager should share their observations. They should be understanding and offer support. In the talk with Mr. Clemens, it became clear that his wife was very sick. He was taking her to many doctor’s appointments.
- In the second step, both should make a shared decision. How do we want to deal with the situation? How long can colleagues be asked to do extra work? Where must the manager draw a line? Mr. Clemens explained that the therapy would probably last a few more weeks. With this information, they can work together.
- Finally, the manager should make an agreement with Mr. Clemens. How will they proceed if the situation lasts longer? What should happen after that?
It is important for managers to know that there are rightly rules for dealing with illnesses. These rules protect employees. The HR and legal departments, as well as the works council, can help here. As a manager, you should always learn about these rules before the employee meeting. If the employee’s personal problem is about health or addiction, there are also external support centers you can contact.
If you think the situation could get worse and the employee’s performance keeps getting poorer, you should agree with them exactly what they need to do and when. You should also regularly write this down. This way, in a serious case, you will have proof of their drop in performance. You can use this to justify formal warnings or even dismissal. But this should really be the last step. Most of these cases can be solved better with trust and open talk about the issue.
Blink 5 – Healthy leadership is important for solving many problems.
You have seen that dealing with difficult employees is always easier when trust and openness are part of the relationship. This kind of atmosphere also affects another point that we want to talk about in this last section: health.
Every conflict causes stress for everyone involved. We don’t need to explain that stress is unhealthy. Also, health is the basis for good performance. This means two things for you as a manager. First, through healthy leadership, you should make sure that conflicts are solved quickly and in a friendly way. Second, you also need to look after your own health.
But what does healthy leadership mean? Basically, it means that you make health a topic in your team. Walking meetings, good desks and chairs, or flexible working hours can help. These let your employees go to sports, for example. Mental health and well-being should also be openly discussed. Try to create a culture where everyone can talk honestly about their feelings without being judged. This way of thinking is not yet common in all companies, but luckily, it is becoming more popular.
As a manager, you are a role model here. A good first step towards more health awareness is to learn to listen to your body more. For example, if a conflict with an employee is starting, you might notice your stomach rumbling. Or you might breathe faster when you talk to that person. Take these signs from your body seriously. And quickly seek an open, respectful conversation where you talk about the tension directly.
Working with values and beliefs can also help create a calm and healthy workplace. Think about your way of working. Are you perhaps too much of a perfectionist? Or are you, for example, convinced that you are not allowed to make mistakes? Such attitudes are tiring and often stop you. Take time and space to see things more clearly here. And talk about it with your team. After all, you work with people, not machines. We all have bodies and feelings that are important, even at work.
A good way to deal with mistakes also leads to more trust, less stress, and better health in the long run. So, definitely avoid scolding employees for mistakes in front of everyone. Instead, always try to see the positive side and chances for improvement in mistakes. And show them these points.
If you lead in a healthy way and a culture of trust is built, fewer conflicts will happen. And those that do appear will be solved faster with respect and openness.
Conclusion
This brings us to the end of our short summary on Umgang mit schwierigen Mitarbeitern. You have seen that problems with employees can hardly be looked at alone, separate from the whole system. To finish, we give you three short ideas to remember:
- Always treat difficult employees with interest, openness, and respect.
- Talk about problems early rather than late.
- Make sure that conflicts do not cause bad effects on your health or your employees’ health.
We hope we could give you some valuable tips and new ways of thinking here.
Thanks for being here, and see you next time!
Source: https://www.blinkist.com/https://www.blinkist.com/de/books/umgang-mit-schwierigen-mitarbeitern-de