This week I've got another real-world topic to discuss that’s not pulled directly from my own experience. One of my readers (I’ll call him Kevin) has asked for some suggestions for handling an employee he supervises. To give a little bit of background, Kevin is somewhat new to the management group in his organization, although it isn't the first leadership position he’s held. He’s been with his current company for a while now and had a chance to show off his technical expertise and organizational skills.
After demonstrating an ability to positively influence the performance of other employees, his role has evolved to include directing their activities. One of those employees has been frustrating him, though. Kevin writes that one of the junior employees in his department, who I’ll refer to as John, has a tendency to get extremely defensive in the face of perceived criticism from Kevin and other managers, even when it’s in the form of constructive feedback.
Kevin will observe John doing something he knows is not the best use of time or most effective way to perform, a task and John doesn't respond well. He insists with alarm that he didn't know any better, and will point to other employees as having dropped the ball or taught him how to do things incorrectly. John also sometimes continues to insist that what he’s currently working on is more important than other tasks that may be asked of him, regardless of whether the other task may be a higher priority.
From what I can see, it sounds like there are two main issues here. One of these is a little bit less complicated, and that is that John might be having difficulty setting priorities. Granted, we could probably all use better decision-making abilities, and I’ll be touching on that in a future article. While we can’t force an individual to develop good habits as far as prioritizing, we can teach them some basic techniques. If you’re not a regular reader, you might not know that I’m a fan of the easiest way of choosing priorities - is it important or not, is it urgent or not - and that method is easy to explain to an employee.
Where this breaks down is at the organizational level. Perhaps John doesn't understand which clients’ projects are the most important to address, or how the hierarchy of his supervisors can help determine whose instructions to follow. It may also be true that John doesn't have visibility on project timelines, and may not know that an email from a smaller client requires a response today while the request from the bigger client can wait until Monday. He may benefit from an explanation of not just how to set priorities, but who and what are important and urgent in his specific department and company.
The second issue is a little bit touchier to address; John does not take feedback well, and he’s about to get feedback on his own personality. Further, he needs to take ownership of his actions and decisions, and not place blame on other employees. These issues are not only relevant now, but may continue to be relevant if John doesn't improve after receiving feedback. Kevin tells me he’s already spoken with John about it, explaining how how his behavior is what’s affecting his interactions with others and distracting from doing his job.
That first meeting went well because Kevin kept it professional and not personal. For a while, John improved and was able to take direction without becoming defensive. After some time passed, however, he reverted to his old ways and once again began to deflect blame and refuse to accept responsibility for his performance. At this point, Kevin needs to keep his message consistent and remind John that he’s lapsing. Kevin and John work for an organization that values professional behavior, and it would help Kevin to explain to John that his behavior doesn't meet the criteria for that.
Kevin should make sure that he has clearly communicated his expectations for John the first time, and again in this next conversation. He will also need to validate that John understands those expectations. This will help ensure that John stops blaming others when Kevin provides constructive feedback. He can no longer say that a job that didn't get done was someone else’s responsibility, or that he didn't understand his duties.
John’s behavior and performance improved for a while, and to keep him from getting down when receiving criticism, Kevin should acknowledge and praise that improvement. If he continues to become defensive and ignore feedback or deflect blame, however, Kevin may eventually need to use a stricter form of performance management. If it comes to that, the same rules apply. Kevin needs to explain clearly and objectively how John’s attitude is negatively impacting his performance, and why any disciplinary measures may be taken at that time.
It’s worth Kevin’s time to try and help John change, and not just because of the good it will do for John. It will not only be less stressful for Kevin to interact with him, but also he may find that his employee is better able to do his job when he’s more focused on the task at hand than the criticism he may receive.
Do you have someone on your team who doesn't respond well to feedback or criticism from their boss? Please feel free to contribute to the discussion in the comments section! If you've enjoyed spending a few minutes reading “The Boss Perspective,” subscribe and share this site with your friends, Like me on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter @BossPerspective.
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