– Allen Aguilar
When I was a young and new manager starting my career, I thought workplaces were supposed to be organized, collaborative and smooth. I believed that crazy employees and managers who yelled ‘you’re fired’ existed only on TV and movies. After a few years as a manager, I quickly realized that I was living in a movie.
Now, more than 12 years after I first became a supervisor at a very young age, I provide consulting and guidance to new and seasoned managers. I’m not sure if there is something unusual in the air, but as of lately, I have received numerous requests for a manager training on how to manage difficult employees.
Most people that request a training on how to manage difficult staff, want a quick fix. They believe that a training for a couple of hours will suddenly make a manager great and the ‘difficult subordinate’ problem will immediately go away. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Why? Too many managers need a lot of improvement and the next time a ‘tough employee’ comes a long, the manager will probably have the same problem.
To handle difficult employees, I recommend that managers focus on three areas that will help them grow professionally and will help them handle many difficult situations.
1. Managers need to focus on improving communication skills
We can’t disregard the fact that many managers need a lot of work with the way they communicate. I am not only describing the way managers speak, but all other components that make up the way we communicate at work: email etiquette and writing skills, nonverbal communication, and listening skills. With emails and virtual chats now becoming increasingly popular, many managers default to their most convenient way of communicating, not the most effective.
When a manager deals with a difficult worker, the poor communication skills of the manager will most likely make things worse. This is because miscommunication is common when a manager lacks great communication skills. Therefore, I recommend that managers stop believing that there are magic words that they can say that will make a difficult employee go away, and instead focus on developing stronger communication skills.
2. Managers need to focus on improving their management skills
A company once asked me if I can train their management staff on management skills. To make the training relevant, I asked if there were any specific management skills I should prioritize but the company basically said “everything”. This proves something I learned early in my career when I first began to conduct company trainings: most people have different views of what a ‘manager’ is supposed to be. Some believe a manager is one that tells people what to do. Others believe a manager should be more of a mentor, a strong leader. Yet others believe that a manager the ‘big boss’ that is too busy to interact with subordinates.
Managers struggle to handle problematic employees because they lack certain skills they were probably never taught. In my experience, most managers were promoted to a management position and were never taught how to manage employees. To prevent difficult staff from emerging or from existing in the company, managers need to do a much better job at managing. This includes skills that managers should possess and implement with their staff, regardless if the staff consists of difficult employees. Those managers that prioritize coaching and training their team, providing frequent and relevant feedback to subordinates and hold each other accountable are the ones that deal less with problematic subordinates.
3. Managers need to receive more training
I truly believe that managers want to be trained if the training will help them do their job a lot better. There are two problems that exist in the life of a manger when we talk about training: 1) many trainings or workshops companies provide to managers are a waste of time and don’t really develop stronger managers and 2) managers are given so much to do that they lack the time to sharpen their skills.
I can almost guarantee any company that if they tell their managers, “we have a training that will help you manage difficult employees a lot better, will make your life less stressful and will improve your professional skills,” many managers would be happy to take that training. However, I think most managers will be skeptical that the training will accomplish those three objectives. The biggest issue I see when managers resist training or do not pursue their own professional development is that managers will continue to struggle at their job. Experience will help, but it may or may not take the stress away. Unfortunately, the supervisors of many of the managers I am describing provide little or no help. Managers need to take ownership of their own development in order to appropriately manage themselves, their team, and ultimately that difficult subordinate.