Wednesday, March 26, 2014

How to Manage People You Can't Stand


It’s bad enough if you have to work with people you can’t stand – but what if you manage them?
Well, one quick solution is to just fire an obnoxious twit.
Unfortunately, while that may give you a brief respite, you may soon be forced to acknowledge the twit was actually very talented, and now you have the headache of trying to recruit and train his replacement.
The reality is that you’re going to be required to manage lots of people you don’t like. But it’s your job to manage people and their skills, and that means finding a way to bring out the best in them to get the job done – and not lose your last shred of sanity.
Here are some of the ways you can manage these difficult people and redirect them to more positive behavior as outlined in “Dealing With People You Can’t Stand” by Rick Brinkman and Rick Kirschner:
  • Root out discontent. If you’ve got an employee who is like a sniper in the bushes just waiting to take a shot, don’t ignore him. If you get a snide comment, address it in a neutral tone. Try asking, “When you say that, what are you really trying to say?” Be aggressive and direct with such an employee to keep the situation from growing worse. Often this will allow you to then direct the person in a more positive way.
  • Stand up to pushy employees. These aggressive types may (read more here)

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