03/03/2010
Difficult Supervisory Conversations
Only with heightened coping skills will we be able to rise above our shell shock and be who we want to be. All of us have the capacity to do this, and when we do, we will increase our own happiness and be of greater service to those around us.
Mary Piper, psychologist and author
As a supervisor you may find it necessary to have conversations with employees who are not performing well. While we don't like the name of the book, Bad Apples: How to Manage Difficult Employees, Encourage Good Ones to Stay, and Boost Productivity (Avon, MA: Adams Business, 2009), we did find the advice it offered on conducting such a conversation to be helpful:
- Avoid confrontation. A discussion between a manager and employee should never become a confrontation pitting one person against the other. There is nothing in the dynamic that will improve the situation.
- Don't be afraid of silence. If you feel like things are escalating or becoming confusing, take a deep breath and a moment to gather your thoughts.
- Keep your annoyance to yourself. Sometimes it can be useful to let someone know how much they have annoyed you or made your life difficult, but in most situations it just muddies the waters. Treat the employee with respect and the conversation will be much smoother.
- Give your employee room to speak. Refusing to let your employee offer an explanation will cause resentment, so allow him some time to account for his behavior.
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