Wednesday, December 07, 2011
What to Do About Untouchable Employees
In a recent VitalSmarts survey of 950 people, “93% of employees work with people whose bad behavior or chronic poor performance should make them a target for outplacement, yet they get away with just about anything and are accountable for almost nothing.”
Perhaps you have encountered bad behavior in the workplace in the past when it wasn’t your responsibility to handle. Now, in a leadership role, you’ve followed all the established policies and suggested guidelines in dealing with a team member who is not a model company citizen. No matter what you’ve tried, they continue to push beyond boundaries and the rest of your team is noticing.
Unfortunately, the “untouchables” on your team usually turn out to be those who have proved themselves as valuable to the company. Over the course of time, however, they have turned into cocky big mouths – very bad behavior – with egos that believe organizational rules no longer apply to them.
Every company has their own definition of valuable and, most times, it is seem in terms of productivity and bringing in the money. While these are important measures in an organization, they don’t always tell the entire story.
Research reveals the high costs of working around “untouchables”:
• overall damage to team morale, quality, and productivity
• other valuable employees are driven away
• tolerated bad behavior is know by 94% of the staff
• 91% of employees say the problem has continued unaddressed for a year or more
• 1 in 4 people confront “untouchable” coworkers about their behavior of performance. They work around them, complain to others, or avoid their coworker altogether.
Tips for Holding Coworkers Accountable
1. Communicate respect. Communicating respect in the first 30-seconds helps others feel safe, which will help them listen to you.
2. Lead with facts. When sharing concerns, don’t lead with accusations or judgmental language. Lead with facts.
3. Share natural consequences. Motivate others by helping them see the natural consequences of their bad behavior in ways that matter to them.
4. Invite dialogue. Remember you are partly wrong about how you see things. After sharing your concerns, encourage the other person to share his or hers – even to show you where you are wrong. Others will be open to your view if they are convinced you’re open to theirs.
5. Hold the boss accountable. If the dialogue fails, and if it’s affecting you and the team negatively, your next conversation needs to be with your boss.
Use these same steps to help your boss see that he or she needs to do a better job of dealing with bad behavior employees.
The real problem is not that “untouchables” exist in organizations; rather the problem is that they are not confronted about their bad behavior. Make sure you address behaviors among your own team members.
Until next time...Lead like you mean it!
Marjorie
