Dealing with disruptive behaviour - The difference between can’t and won’t
As leaders, we must appreciate not everyone is in love with their job! Regardless of whether employees are, or are not, passionate about their role, most days are at least tolerable.
A day at work can get much worse when a member of the team won’t stop complaining about how bad it is.
Workers who grumble about how their holiday wasn’t approved, how bored they are, how much they hate the jobs they are given and so on, eventually influences those around them. Before long, you start to notice how this person’s constant complaining makes you and your team’s workday get actively worse. Over time, this negativity radiates, and others may also begin to view the company in a negative new light. It is a proven fact that one person’s vocal discontent at work is contagious. Constant griping can worm its way into the most positive brain.
Negative behaviour is a huge cause of stress, reduces trust and lowers collaboration in the workplace. Negativity can create environments where people just want to work on their own and not cooperate with one another. Negativity impacts creativity and innovation, and affects every aspect of the workplace culture, happiness and energy of everyone in the team. Negative employees can take the focus away from projects and responsibilities and, often, the disgruntled employee becomes the topic of conversation rather than the work!
1 in 5 ratio rule (Heaphy and Losada 2004)
I have built teams from scratch (new builds usually), but have inherited more teams in my career. By the law of averages, I have therefore inherited some exceptionally good individuals and some with disruptive behaviours.
Over the years, I have discovered a set of five questions I ask myself, which has helped me distinguish individuals who are willing or unwilling to contribute to a healthy environment. Do they or are they:
Dealing with disruptive “won’t” behaviour
Of course, your first step as a manager should be to avoid hiring toxic people in the first place. However, once they are on your team, it can be difficult to get rid of them if you later discover they have disruptive tendencies. Unfortunately, disruptive staff members often take up a lot of time and resource, which can prevent both yourself and the team from achieving set goals. That is why it is important to identify the issue and rectify it quickly. Typical disruptive behaviour can include several communication and emotional issues:
- Creating cliques and stirring up trouble
- Undermining the team leader behind their back while playing innocent
- Being constantly negative – especially about change – and infecting the team with dissatisfaction and resentment
- Not working as hard and expecting others to pick up the slack
- Hostility, aggressiveness, rudeness or disrespect to colleagues
- Reluctance to take accountability or responsibility
- Actions or statements that undermine team motivation or organisation goals
- Resistance to participation, feedback or coaching
Interestingly, negative individuals tend not to believe they are either negative, cynical or disruptive. They do not recognise that they undermine everything and everyone, instead they tend to see themselves as being a realist, or someone who is simply being truthful and honest. They believe their ‘candid’ opinions just highlight all the problems and pitfalls of life that others do not see. They see themselves as a ‘truth warrior’ and ‘representative’ of the group, often using phrases such as “I’m not the only one, I’m speaking for the others who all think the same as me.”
It is not necessarily that they do not buy into an initiative, it is simply that they try to point out all the things that prevent it from being perfect! Therefore, working towards something better is not worth pursuing. The following are tried and tested methods to adopt which will help combat the disruption:
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Listen
To stop the said employee from being disruptive, you must find out what the problem is. Call a meeting and have an informal chat about their life, thoughts and opinions. -
Be clear and to the point
If talking to the disruptive employee on a casual basis doesn’t work, you might have to take a more direct approach. Putting your foot down and giving them honest, behavioural feedback might give them the kick up the backside they need. -
Stay professional
This is obvious, but it is so important that it is worth remembering. Bad mouthing disruptive employees behind their back will simply create a toxic environment and breed resentment within the team. -
Do not get distracted
Managing a toxic person can eat up your time, energy and productivity. It is extremely easy to fall into the trap of spending so much of your energy on one individual that your other priorities fall by the wayside. -
Try not to overly please
Being indecisive and eager to please a disruptive person is a ‘green light’ to a negative individual. They will see this as a weakness, taking everything and paying back nothing in return!
However, if all else fails, you must start to look to remove the disruptive employee for the good of the team and organisation. In this case, be strong and professional from start to finish. Keep detailed records of any feedback meetings and reviews. A written record of meetings is a strength if the situation escalates later.
As a manager, it is reasonable to expect the basics of good attitude. Workplace attitudes influence every person in the organisation. Attitudes help to develop the prevailing workplace environment that determines employee morale, productivity and team building abilities.
Every manager should be entitled to ask each member of the team (and themselves) to ‘buy into’ the following:
10 things that require zero talent:
- Being on time
- Making an effort
- Being high energy
- Having a positive attitude
- Being passionate
- Using good body language
- Being coachable
- Doing a little extra
- Being prepared
- Having a strong work ethic
To conclude, you must be strong in your mind-set and confident in the decisions that you make. A good manager will tackle the issue immediately and have the courage to make decisions. Always keep a positive attitude when approaching a disruptive employee, approaching with a negative tone and series of criticisms never ends well. It is important to show faith in the individual, offer goals for them to strive towards and balance the harsh consequences with a positive outlook. Always remember to communicate and never moan about an employee behind their back. The fact is, you and your team are in this together, and you have the power to make them click and achieve fantastic things.