Dealing with Employees Who Keep Everyone’s Spirit Down
You expect that every employee working with you is a team player. You want to achieve your goals, and you know that it’s only possible when everyone works together. However, it’s inevitable to find one who doesn’t seem to have that team spirit. Instead of cheering everyone, they tend to pull people down. It’s terrible working with someone with this attitude. You have to approach that person right away and hope for change.
Gather evidence first
You’re not with your employees all the time. It’s possible that you’re only making assumptions about your employees. It’s also possible that office politics result to each member saying something terrible about the other. Therefore, before you conclude that someone isn’t a team player or has a bad attitude towards fellow workers, you have to be sure about it.
Confront that person
It also helps if you speak with that person directly to confirm these allegations and find out the reasons for such actions. You will then understand that employee better. You don’t need to be combative. Try your best to approach the employee in a diplomatic way and have an open mind. Listen to what the other person says and suspend judgments.
Give the employee and opportunity to lead
Perhaps, this employee doesn’t feel like being a part of the team since he always follows what other people say. Give that employee a chance to lead to know what it feels like to be on the other side. As a leader, he needs to gather support from everyone. It’s also important to be friendly and have a positive attitude.
Conduct a team building activity
It might also help if you give more opportunities for your employees to gather and know each other deeper. The isolation right now might be due to the lack of activities to understand their colleagues. These activities will change how everyone feels about team activities. You don’t need to head out or be in an expensive venue. The purpose is to spend more time with each other and value teamwork.
Give incentives
The employees who don’t support the others might have no reasons to do so because the success of the team isn’t necessarily an individual success. In fact, all the credits usually go to the leader. This, giving incentives to individuals even when they work with a group can do a lot. You need to make this person feel responsible about the success of every group member.
Recommend the removal of that employee
After doing all these things, you hope for some positive changes. If nothing happens, there might be something wrong with the attitude of that person. Therefore, you have no choice but to recommend the removal of that person in your team. You can’t bring everyone down just because of one person who has a terrible attitude.
Your leadership skills will be put to test because of this scenario, and you have to be smart in making a decision.
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