Being a manager would be easy if employees were all easy going, talented hard working individuals not opposed to taking orders from time to time, but that sadly isn’t the case, which means if you want to be a good manager, you need to know how to deal with those difficult employees.
Here are some of the most effective ways of managing people who are tough to manage:
Deal with Conflict Directly
Every operations management course will tell you that you need to deal with conflict directly and with an even hand. You can’t simply pretend conflicts aren’t happening or sweep them under the carpet if you want things to change. You need to listen to everyone’s point of view and then try to come to a conclusion that everyone can live with.
Try to See Things from Their Perspective
Good managers learn how to see issues from the perspective of their team, even the problematic ones. It isn’t always easy, and it’s definitely a skill that needs to be learned, but if you can do it, you will be able to identify when the troublemaker actually has a point and when you might be reacting badly to them because of your own issues or past experience. If you can do this, you’ll get things right more often and be respected more by your employees, which will make managing them a lot easier too.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
If there’s an employee who’s causing you and the rest of your team a lot of problems, you should never be afraid to ask for help from Human Resources or someone higher up in the team, even if it’s just for advice.Knowing when you need help is the sign of a good manager, not a sign of failure.
Set Clear Objectives
If you give your employees clear objectives which can be easily measured, then they will know exactly what they have to do, and there will be no excuses for them not to deliver. If they don’t meet these objectives, you will be able to better broach the subject with them than you would if they were generally slacking off, but you had no way of proving that was the case.
Offer Incentives
The carrot approach is often a good way of getting tough employees to buck their ideas up. Offering small rewards such as monetary bonuses, evenings out and extra time off are all great ways to get the tough employee engaged and working to the best of their abilities, most of the time.
Let Them Go
If you try to manage an employee effectively, but you still find that they’re more of a liability to the business than an asset, there is absolutely nothing wrong with initiating dismissal proceedings or talking to the higher ups about letting them go. It’s not an ideal solution, but sometimes, employees just aren’t the right fit, and no amount of good management will change that.
Being a manager can be difficult, but with these highly-effective strategies, you should have no problem succeeding.
