• Promote trust among your staff. Sarah Klein, writing
for Workforce Management, covered the Crain’s survey
and found that the best ego managers were those who
established credibility simply “by being transparent
about their goals.” The ‘what you see is what you get’
approach promotes trust, and trust will go a long way in
building a healthy relationship with even the most diffi-cult-to-manage person.
• Use “coaching,” not discipline, as a key to soothing the
savage beast. Discipline is not necessarily the best strategy
when dealing with high-maintenance egos. Oftentimes, disciplinary action can amplify the negative behavior. Likely,
the employee will feel as though they’re being attacked,
which will only put them on the defense, escalating the situation. Instead, take a more passive approach to managing
through “coaching.” According to author and management
coach Peter Adebi, “(Coaching) is an effective, non-threat-ening, non-punitive way of enabling individuals to discover
and develop their strengths, come to grips with their opportunity areas or weaknesses and take carefully outlined
steps to address the weaknesses.” The key here is to make
a high-maintenance person feel as though they are receiving guidance and support, not discipline.
• Here’s a valuable coaching tip. Don’t wait too long to
“coach” an employee. It’s better to nip the bad behavior in
the bud immediately. Consider making coaching and
guidance an on-going service at your company (or at least
in your department). According to Adebi, this allows the
company as a whole, “a way to develop talent, enhance
leadership skills, identify, acknowledge, and resolve
weaknesses, and ultimately to enable employees to be
optimally successful.”
At the end of the day, your job is to provide the guidance and support the employees need to be most effective
at their job. Don’t worry about trying to change anyone,
just modify how you react to and work with them. While
it may not be an easy task, remember: you hold the key
to keeping the peace.
For more information on Human Capital Management,
call Ropella & Associates at (850) 983-4777. CW
Sources
1. Adebi, Peter; “Pruning Thorns from Roses: HR’s role
in Managing Disruptive Key Employees”; HR.com article;
October 2007.
2. Klein, Sarah; “Do You Have What it Takes to Manage
Your Toughest, and Often Best, Employees?”; Workforce
Management article; October 2007.
3. Author unknown, “Getting to Know Your People: A
Simple Formula;” HR.com article; July 2007.
