A team must be cohesive in order to be successful. So, if one member of your team is causing problems, it can disrupt and affect the other people on the team.
In turn, that can lower productivity, create stress and tension, and lead to unhappiness in the workplace.
Therefore, it’s crucial that you take active steps to deal with the problematic team member as soon as possible.
If you don’t know where to begin, here are some great ideas to help you get started.
Recognize and Reward Positive Behavior
First off, you may be able to avoid team members becoming problematic in the first place if you introduce a recognition and rewards program.
Many problem team members’ negative behavior can arise from simply not feeling valued in the workplace.
Therefore, by ensuring you always say things like “well done” to team members after they successfully complete tasks, and by giving out rewards or awards to high-performing employees on a regular basis, you can help problematic team members to feel valued and potentially reduce their damaging behavior.
You should definitely consider utilizing employee recognition software. For instance, with the software from Mo, you and your team members can easily celebrate successes, recognize achievements, get real-time feedback, and spread high-performance habits.
Talk Things Through
When a team member is creating problems, you should never ignore the issue and hope it goes away. Instead, you need to be direct and talk about the issue with the team member who is being problematic.
Approach the conversation respectfully and make sure you hold the meeting in private.
When talking about the problem, make sure you use the right language. For instance, you shouldn’t say something like “You’re lazy and useless.” Instead, say something about the actual problem, such as: “You’ve missed the last two deadlines.”
Let the team member know about the negative impact he or she is having on the team and discuss ways in which the team member can change his or her attitude and move forward.
Make Sure You Listen
During your meeting with the problematic team member, it’s important that you remember to listen to the person.
If the employee doesn’t feel you’re actively listening, he or she could end up feeling even more frustrated and undervalued, and the problematic behavior would then be sure to continue or worsen.
The more insight you can gain into the difficult team member, the more the two of you can take steps to solve the problematic behavior.
By listening attentively, you could find that the problematic team member’s main issue simply comes down to something easily changeable, such as miscommunication.
Alternatively, you may find out that the person has problems at home that are affecting his or her behavior at work, and that you were unaware of.
You could even find out that the problematic team member is unaware of his or her troublesome behavior.
By listening and getting to the bottom of your employee’s problems, you’ll be much better positioned to solve the issues.Give the Problematic Team Member Time
Once you have had a meeting with the problematic team member, give him or her time to improve.
It could be beneficial to come up with an agreed timeline.
During that grace period, make sure you monitor the person’s behavior and progress.
Move the Problematic Employee
Sometimes, you could have an employee who is problematic in group settings but an excellent worker when left to his or her own devices. If that is the case, look at moving the employee to a position that doesn’t involve teamwork.
Also, if, during your meeting with the disruptive employee, you find that the problem is solely down to him or her not getting on with specific people in the team, you could simply swap team members around to create better dynamics.
Get Help from Human Resources
If you have a human resources department at your company, you should ask HR members of staff for assistance in how to best deal with the problematic team member.
They will be able to help you identify the precise issues, discuss the steps that you need to take and provide a workable course of action.
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