How To Manage PeopleWELCOME to the

Module 5Dealing with Difficult People

Session Objectives

Discover reasons why people don’t do what they are supposed to do and what you can do about it

Explore the situational leadership model and determine if you are adjusting your style as needed to address the motivation, confidence and abilities of others

What Have You Tried?

What is one action that you have done differently since Module 4?

17 Reasons Why People Don’t Do What They Are Supposed to Do … And

What To Do About It

REASONS WHY PEOPLE DON’T DO AS YOUHAVE REQUESTED

No. Reason Solution

1 They don’t know what they are supposed to do Let them know what they are supposed to do

2 They don’t know how to do it Find out if they know how to do it

3 They don’t know why they should do it Let them know why they should do it

4 They think your way won’t work Demonstrate to them that your way will work

5 They think their way is better If their way is not better, demonstrate to them why it is not better

6 They think something else is more important Let them know the work priorities

7 They anticipate future negative consequences Demonstrate to them that anticipated future negative consequences for attempting to perform the work will not occur

8 Personal problems Work around the problems (e.g. reassign work, refer to EAP)

REASONS WHY PEOPLE DON’T DO AS YOU HAVE REQUESTEDNo. Reason Solution

9 Personal limits Verify the work is not beyond their personal limits

10 Obstacles beyond their control Verify no obstacles beyond their control. Remove obstacles / give employees strategy for going around obstacles

11 No one could do it Verify that it can be done

12 They think they are doing it Give them performance feedback specifically and frequently

13 No positive consequences to them for doing it

Verbally reward good performance specifically and frequently

14 They are punished for doing what they are supposed to do

Remove negative consequences for good performance or balance them with positive reinforcement

15 They are rewarded for not doing it Remove positive consequences for poor performance

16 No negative consequence to them for performing badly

Use negative consequences only with consistent poor performance (progressive discipline)

17 They forgot to do it Ensure reminders are set up so people don’t forget

Exercise

1. Identify & describe where employee did NOT

meet expectation / goal

2. Review the 17 Reasons & outline prime reason

for behaviour

3. Determine specific actions to address the

situation

4. Outline YOUR stop / start doing to prevent

situation / help team/area better meet

expectations & goalsROW Supervisor Training June 2012

Dealing with Difficult People

Hostile-Aggressive: Overtly abusive behaviour, raised voices.

Note: if there is violence, report it to your supervisor / HR

Complainer: Repeated focus only on what is wrong with the situation

Unresponsive / Passive: Says little / hard to read

Hesitant to make a decision, won’t take initiative: Won’t make decisions within role or take initiative to do things

Speak negatively about you or others; gossip: Tend to spread ill feelings by what they say and how they judge others.

5 P’s & Individual Behaviours

The 5Ps Applied to Individual Behaviour

Problem – why is status quo not an option?

What is the behaviour and why is repeating the behaviour unacceptable?

Picture – what will the change look like when fully implemented?

What is the new / refined behaviour that you want to see? What is the metric that will tell you it is being demonstrated?

Plan – what are the steps that need to be taken to ensure picture is achieved?

What is going to happen this week and next week to ensure plan is implemented?

Part – what is the specific responsibility of each person in implementing plan?

What are the specific tasks / steps being assigned to the individual and what is your part?

Progress – how to measure if picture achieved?

How and how often will we monitor if plan is on track and desired picture being achieved?

10

5P’s & Individual Behaviours

Use the 5 P’s to articulate what you might say to change behaviours:

 

PROBLEM

PICTURE

PLAN

PART for individual & self as supervisor 

PROGRESS

Situational Leadership

Leader Styles

Leadership Styles Low Task High Task

High Process Cheerleader Coach

Low Process On-Call Drillmaster

Follower Styles

Leadership Styles

High Ability Low Ability

Confidence / Motivation

Intern(low confidence, high motivation)

Rookie(low confidence, high motivation)

Confidence / Motivation

Veteran(high confidence, high motivation)

I Don’t Want To!(low confidence, low motivation)

Different Followers need Different Leader Styles

Interns need Cheerleaders Rookies need Coaches

Veterans need On-Call I Don’t Want To! need Drillmasters

Applying Situational Leadership to Your Workplace

In each of the boxes below, list at least one individual who you manage or who you know, who is one of the following styles when it comes to doing a task. Indicate what behaviours you see that lead you to identify someone as an Intern, Rookie, etc.

Drillmaster

People for whom it comes naturally: Enjoy analyzing objective criteria of

performance Value efficiency Personalities and feeling do not play a

major role in work Enjoy marshalling necessary physical

and financial resources 

People drawn naturally to other styles:

May find it difficult to give detailed instructions

May not follow up in a task-focused manner.

May not be good at teaching basic skills May raise subordinates expectations

too early, too high

When not to use:

When subordinates are:

Skilled

Experienced

Willing

Confident

Responsible

Possible outcomes of misuse: Wasted supervision time and energy

Resentment

Ideas withheld

Loss of motivation

Loss of confidence

Lack of development

Coach

People for whom it comes naturally:

Value harmony and efficiency

Their concern with facts is blended with genuine, personal interest in their subordinates

Highly motivated to help others get the job done

May have trouble “letting loose” and to let subordinates develop

People drawn naturally to other styles:

May focus only on results and see relationship behaviour as only tangential and not necessary

May be so concerned with people than task completion takes second place

May simply be uncomfortable working, closely, day-by-day, with subordinates

 

When not to use:

When subordinates are either:

Fully qualified and experienced, motivated, and willing to learn more

Have little or no skill, experience, or confidence in the task under issue

Possible outcomes of misuse:

Wasted supervision time and energy

Experienced, motivated workers may see this style as meddlesome or manipulative

New people may be bewildered by attempts to over involve them

Cheerleader

People for whom it comes naturally: Focus intuitively on feelings of others

Understand others and take pleasure in helping them develop

Prefer a warm personal touch

Avoid conflicts

May be seen as permissive, unconcerned with productivity

People drawn naturally to other styles:

May be uncomfortable with “cheerleading / encouraging” behaviour

Initially may feel awkward or artificial

May need to practice being warm, personal, and encouraging

 

When not to use:  When subordinates are:

Not performing up to standard

Unwilling, inexperienced, unskilled, or not showing any initiative

Possible outcomes of misuse: Sharing responsibility with or seeking

consensus from unwilling or inexperienced subordinates can lead to weak solutions or lengthy delays

When workers want or need close direction, a lack of it can lead to loss of respect and reduced effort.

Can appear patronizing to some styles and types.

On-callPeople for whom it comes naturally:

Those who enjoy concentrating on the ‘big picture’

Those who prefer to monitor implementation of policy

Future oriented people

May ignore day-to-day activities and specific problems, and may seem aloof

Find it difficult to detect slipping morale, decreasing production and decrease in quality

People drawn naturally to other styles:

 May find it hard to “let go”

May be seen as interfering

May miss the satisfaction that comes from providing personal support systems

When not to use:

When subordinates are:

New, inexperienced or unskilled in a particular task

Unwilling or unmotivated

Not comfortable nor confident with the assignment

 

Possible outcomes of misuse:

Lack of direction when it is needed can cause frustrations and withdrawal

The leader’s absence may be viewed as indifferent.

Evaluation