Most managers and supervisors in my management training programs were promoted to leadership positions based on their “hard skills,” or technical skills. In other words, they were promoted because they were doing a good job. But that doesn’t mean they’ve had training in managing conflict and dealing with people. As a matter of fact, most of them never had management skills training until they’ve been managers and supervisors for three years.
In conducting workshops on effective leadership and managing people, the biggest challenge many managers tell me they face nowadays is how to manage a difficult employee. You can’t control them, but you can control their environment. Here are 3 quick tips for managing difficult people:

1. Make sure you document because as far as the courts are concerned, if it’s not written down it’s as if it didn’t happen. Stick to the facts. Avoid any language that would be perceived as too subjective. For example, you could document, “John Doe arrived late for the second day in a row at 8:20 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m. He also took a two hour lunch from noon until 2:00 p.m. today.” You wouldn’t want to document, “It’s as if John is expecting everyone else to do his work.” You may think it, but you have to stick to the facts as you know them!

2. Also, avoid using the word “attitude” when managing difficult people. “Attitude” is too subjective and not specific enough. Better to use specific examples of exactly what behavior or quality of work the employee needs to improve. Even though most states nowadays are “Right to Work” and “At Will,” you must warn the employee of where they need to improve. You wouldn’t want them to say they couldn’t change because they “weren’t warned” or “didn’t know.”

3. Provide specific examples of your expectations for the difficult employee. Discuss this in a performance meeting with them as well as putting it in writing for accountability. When managing difficult people, you must make their goals and objectives clear. Including any behaviors they need to improve. For example, if they’re doing clerical work, a specific example would be that they are to, “Correct and proofread all reports for the quality control department within two days of receiving them.”

For more detailed information and specific examples on managing difficult people, please click on the article titled, “10 Effective Tips for Managing Difficult People,” at www.ColleenSpeaks.com/managing_difficult_people01.htm