Every entrepreneur needs to surround themselves with positive, happy, constructive people. Part of your recruiting and hiring process should be designed to identify these kinds of behaviors and root out the negative ones. But even in the best companies, a negative person can get hired; and sometimes, it’s a case of a positive employee turning into a disaster.
In researching this article I found a plethora of material and tips on how to effectively deal with a negative employee. Much of this advice can be boiled down to a few simple steps, all of it in keeping with the E-Myth Point of View.
As with constructing a house, the foundation is of ultimate importance in supporting the rest of the building. That’s why it’s so important that you create a culture – right away – that emphasizes positive values and attributes and articulates those values clearly. It’s about reinforcing the kind of attitude you want to see in the workplace. You should also have a clear communication structure in place where managers meet with their direct reports on a regular basis. If you’re meeting regularly, don’t let negative behavior go unrecognized and unaddressed.
Specific Steps to Address Negativity
Here are some steps you can take when you encounter problems with negative employees. First, observe and quantify the employee’s negative behavior. It takes observable and tangible examples and more than one instance to label an employee negative. When confronting the employee, you’ll need to describe the specifics of the negative behavior and how it affects your company and the other employees. It’s not enough to simply say, “Tom, I feel like you’ve become a negative influence around here.” You need specific examples like, “Tom, you’ve been overheard after meetings telling other employees you don’t like the direction we’re taking. Why not address those issues directly with me?”It helps to get support from others in the organization, such as another manager, to both verify what you’ve observed and perhaps even sit in on the meeting with the employee. Don’t try to extract a confession out of the employee or get them to apologize. You just want them to know you are aware of their toxic behavior.
Next you want to demonstrate good leadership by re-aligning the employee with the organization’s values, purpose and goals. Lead them to the realization that their behavior is affecting their success and undermines the organization. Ask the employee what will help them turn their negative behavior into positive behavior. See if they have an explanation which will help you understand the situation more clearly. If the cause appears to be personal, perhaps you can refer them to an employee assistance counselor. If the explanation is work related, this provides an open invitation to ask more questions, listen, coach and mentor them. Sometimes understanding that there is an organizational cause for the behavior leads you to correcting it and improving the overall company culture.
Always be vigilant that you don’t turn cause the employee to become more negative. You can never change a negative employee (or customer) with negativity. Don’t expect miracles. Just get them to elevate their awareness and know you are aware of their behavior. End the discussion with a positive belief that they can change. Most importantly, you must deal with negative behaviors swiftly and firmly because negative employees create suspicion, tension, hostility and undermine leadership.
Most insidious are the negative employees who come to work on time each day and are good workers technically, so traditional performance evaluations will grade them adequate or even better. The work environment can be a happy, productive place, though it isn't always that way. One little bit of negatively can seep through the workforce quickly, bringing down both the productivity and morale of your people.
Finding out where the negativity lies is usually a question of knowing and communicating with your staff. Regular communication systems that keep you in touch with your employees along with a management commitment and sensitivity in dealing with these issues can make all the difference.
Negative Customers
Employees are one thing, but what about dealing with negativity from customers? Again, it comes down to the same principles of communication and remaining in close connection so that you can right a negative situation immediately. As the E-Myth Point of View expresses, a customer complaint is always an opportunity, and one can use their complaints and concerns to innovate the fulfillment process to better serve the customer. Quick communication and action usually placates the customer poised to turn negative over a bad experience.Sometimes customers can turn toxic just like an employee. One of my clients likes to say that at times, he has to “fire a customer.” What he means is that it makes good business sense to cut the relationships with those customers that are draining his energies, causing too much wasted time and not sufficiently adding to profits. It’s never easy, but occasionally the diplomatic and clear severing of the relationship is the best bet; as your product and service may be misaligned to their expectations, causing the negative behavior.
One thing to remember though, is that in this age of instant communication, our customers (or employees for that matter) can broadcast their negativity immediately. It’s incumbent upon the business owner and managers of the organization to understand their customers and communicate with them regularly. When negativity rises with customers, it can usually be transformed when you come from a place of genuine concern and by demonstrating a caring attitude, listening to them and giving them more from the relationship than they were previously receiving.
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