Thank you for listening to The Champion Forum Podcast with Jeff Hancher! The most significant mistake leaders make when dealing with toxic employees is waiting too long to address the toxic behavior. Left unattended, toxic people will destroy your team’s culture and productivity. In this week’s episode, we will discuss why leaders avoid addressing toxic employees, how to coach a toxic employee, and, if necessary, move toward termination.
Why do some leaders avoid addressing a toxic employee?
They want to avoid conflict.
Holding employees accountable for their toxic behaviors can lead to a challenging conversation and emotional response. Instead of addressing the tension, leaders hope to find indirect ways to deal with the problem. If you struggle to know what to say in conversations like these, check out the episodes Navigating Tough Conversations Part 1 and Part 2 for more information.
They fear finding, hiring, and training a replacement will take too much time and energy.
The more productive an employee is, the harder it is to consider firing them. As painful as it is to lose a peak performer, nothing is more important than protecting your company’s culture. While hiring can be a challenge, it’s a short-term pain. Living with a toxic employee will cause long-term pain.
The leader is hoping the person will leave on their own.
Toxic employees rarely leave on their own. Why would they leave, especially when they might have a leader that is tolerant of them? Ignoring a toxic employee could mean you and your team will have to endure years of headaches and destruction.
Q: What is the biggest reason people avoid confronting toxic employees? Do you think it has more to do with fear of the other person, for themselves, or for the company? Why?
Steps to addressing a toxic employee
Set Clear Behavioral Expectations
Establish clear expectations for employee behavior and hold them accountable to those standards. Be firm and clear on the behaviors you value and expect, and have your employee agree to uphold your standards. Express your appreciation for their commitment and clearly state that you do not expect to need to meet to discuss their behaviors again.
Model the Behaviors You Expect to See
When interacting with the toxic employee, use the behaviors you want to see from them.
You may find that you need to manage your own frustration. Remember, our ultimate goal as leaders is to do our best to make everyone better. If you want your employees to be calm and respectful, you must model the same behavior.
Document everything
Document any proof of the behavior and your response, including formal complaints, performance evaluations, and/or peer feedback. This paper trail will establish that the behavior was a pattern, that you took steps to address it, that warnings or resources were provided to the employee, and that the employee failed to change. Thorough documentation will protect you and your company if you must let the employee go.
End/Terminate the Relationship
If you are dealing with a toxic employee and know that you have done everything you can reasonably do, it may be time to remove the employee from your team. You will know that this is the point at which you have gotten to when you feel you don’t know what else to do, or the person’s behavior is negatively impacting others, and you decide that enough is enough. Ultimately, it may be what is in the best interest of the toxic employee, others on your team, you, and the organization.
Q: Have you ever been in a situation where a toxic employee was allowed to continue working? How did it affect the work environment? How were you personally affected? How does your past experience shape the way you feel about confronting a toxic team member?
Helpful questions to ask yourself:
Are you aware of your own thoughts and emotions about this employee? What are they? How may they be helping or hindering you from taking action?
How can you regulate your emotions so that you are in a better place to take action and constructively address the toxic employee's behavior?
How will you manage your thoughts and emotions before and during a meeting with the employee to address their toxic behavior?
What are your expectations of a constructive result and outcome?
Q: Is there anything in your own attitude or mindset that might be making it difficult for you to address a toxic employee or other difficult situation? How do you currently regulate your own emotions? Is there anything that you can do better? Explain.
Be prepared to coach the toxic employee “up or out” as soon as you spot a problem behavior. Most employees can be guided to better productivity and more positive work relationships. You, as their leader, just need to act quickly and decisively. Fast action accomplishes two things: It lets the whole team know that you’re holding everyone accountable. And you stop toxic employees before they completely destroy their own credibility or their team. If you have identified a toxic employee, it is imperative that you do something about it sooner rather than later.
Application Activities
Evaluate how you respond in high-stress situations. Do you respond aggressively? Or do you shrink back and waver in your opinions? If you want to be able to address toxic employees, you will have to learn how to manage your own emotions in difficult conversations. Start by paying attention to how you respond the next time you are in a difficult conversation. Make a goal for the next time that will help you make a small improvement. If you tend to respond quickly and lash out, try to count to three in your head before you respond. If you tend to backtrack on your main points, pick one point that you will refuse to back down on and come up with a few statements that will help you stand your ground.
Look at your system for documenting bad behavior. If you are not familiar with the process, spend some time talking to HR, or if you are a small business owner, brush up on best practices. If there are any situations that need to be documented, don’t wait!
What are your behavioral expectations for your employees? Can you list them? Can your employees list them? If not, it is time for a refresher! Make sure that the list is comprehensive but easy to understand and remember. Get everyone on board with the expectations and stress that you won’t see every time one of these expectations is broken, so it is up to everyone to protect the culture.
Comentarios