Your most difficult employee can become your best employee if you do the right thing!
I'm the one who gets called to deal with “that person." You know who I mean—the employee who's too valuable to fire, but whose communication and behavior wreaks havoc on the company.
In most cases, there's been a failure to give direct feedback.
Recently, a supervisor contacted me about a valued senior employee whose poor communication led to multiple HR complaints. Despite bringing in substantial revenue, this employee’s behavior was causing problems. Yet leadership wasn't willing to terminate them.
When I asked why no one had given direct feedback earlier, the answer was simple: they didn't want to upset the person.
Here's the truth.
Without feedback, people causing communication problems often have no idea they're doing so. Or if they do see the negative impact, they don’t know how to fix it.
As a coach, I'm often the one who delivers this feedback in a direct, fact-based manner. While this is effective, it isn't ideal.
Feedback should come from their supervisor or manager.
Frequently, my clients ask, "Why didn't anyone tell me before this?"
I don't believe people wake up in the morning thinking, "I want to offend and annoy as many people as possible today."
In fact, communication challenges often stem from trauma, a lack of appropriate role models during development, or neurodivergence (when someone's brain works in ways that are unique to them).
When people are eager to improve when they:
receive clear feedback about necessary changes
get support while making those changes
People making behavioral changes need someone who's empathetic, nonjudgemental, maintains confidentiality, understands communication challenges, holds them accountable, and supports them while they practice new behaviors.
Some wisdom that applies to employees too.
My father used to say, "Your most difficult customer can become your best customer if you do the right thing." After 20 years of successfully working with challenging employees, I firmly believe coaching is that "right thing."
If you have a difficult employee (or perhaps you are one) who brings value in other ways, let's explore whether one-on-one coaching with me is the solution!
Schedule a confidential time to chat with me: https://ncdsolution.com/beth