How To Coach An Employee With A Negative Attitude

If you've been a manager for a while, you've no dubiety had negative employees on your team. As y'all've probably experienced, dealing with such team members tin exist tricky, specially if their negativity is subtle and not overt.

Since negative employees can accept an adverse effect on the rest of the team, and tin also plow customers confronting a company, it's of import to nip any negativity in the bud.

Fortunately, an employee with a bad attitude can alter if you lot provide them with the proper guidance. Coaching an employee with a negative mental attitude is a managerial skill that you larn over fourth dimension. To assist yous forth, I've compiled a list of coaching tips beneath.

Why Exercise Managers Avert Coaching Negative Team Members?

Despite the fact that negative team members can be bad for a squad'due south morale and for productivity in general, managers oftentimes avoid dealing with this problem. In that location are multiple reasons why managers may avoid coaching an employee with a negative attitude.

If you lot're in such a position, understanding your avoidance beliefs is the first footstep in changing your managerial approach. Here are a few common reasons why managers don't like to deal with negative employees.

Negativity Is Largely a Subjective Thing

1 of the principal reasons why you may exist avoiding dealing with negativity in the workplace is that it can exist tricky to objectively bear witness.

While you may have seen an employee whorl their optics during team meetings or accept had to deal with their sulky behavior on a daily basis, objectively proving their negative attitude can exist difficult.

Negativity Tin can be Hard To Pinpoint

Another reason why y'all may be sidestepping the result is that you may exist second-guessing yourself. Since negative employees tin sometimes be very subtle in the way they bear witness their displeasure, you may be wondering whether you're perhaps too sensitive as a manager or bravado things out of proportion.

Managers Lack the Skills

Dealing with subjective matters such equally negativity in the workplace is ofttimes something that managers aren't trained for.

In addition, employee guidelines and company policies typically don't deal with such subjective, and seemingly unimportant, matters either. Simply non knowing how to deal with the situation is therefore another common reason why managers avert coaching negative employees.

It Is Not a Priority

Another reason why managers may choose not to bargain with negative team members is that they don't regard the issue every bit important enough.

In traditional piece of work environments, the company civilization may dictate that subjective issues such as negativity may be overlooked. Addressing a team fellow member well-nigh their negative attitude may exist regarded as unnecessary or unprofessional.

Why Do Managers Need to Worry About Negative Workers?

While it may exist tempting to ignore a negative employee on your team, I strongly suggest that you deal with the matter sooner rather than later on. As is the case with all idioms, at that place is a lot of truth in the concept that a rotten apple spoils the bunch.

A negative team member adversely affects a team in many means. Fifty-fifty if their negativity doesn't rub off on other members, it volition decrease a team's morale.

If the team member is in a client-facing role, the attitude of clients toward the visitor tin can also be negatively affected. The company may even lose clients. And then, in the cease, negativity amongst employees directly impacts a business organisation's productivity and profitability. Also, negativity doesn't make for a happy work environment.

Ways To Resolve Attitude Problems in the Workplace

Now that I have explained the importance of dealing with negativity, my focus will at present fall on how to tell an employee they need to improve their attitude.

1. Lead by Case

While this isn't only a leadership style you should exhibit when there's negativity in your squad, leading by case can exist effective when coaching negative squad members.

First, you demand to take an objective look at your management way and decisions and make sure that your actions and mental attitude are not perhaps engendering negativity in your team.

You should consider whether you're off-white in your expectations of your team and whether yous provide them with enough back up and incentives. And even more chiefly, are they beingness paid adequately for their work?

As well, double-check your own mental attitude as a manager. Are you a positive leader who inspires the same outlook in the people who piece of work under you lot?

ii. Do Your Homework

Earlier yous have a kneejerk reaction and accuse one of your team members of an entitlement attitude in the workplace, offset ask around well-nigh the employee.

You lot can chat with coworkers who are close to them, or with previous managers. Is this negative attitude perhaps an inherent part of the employee's personality?

Information technology's a good thought to proceeds a more holistic understanding of who the employee is earlier you lot start coaching them since doing so volition determine how you lot arroyo the whole process.

If the employee is having health problems, or perhaps going through a sticky divorce, you tin provide adequate support to help them through these tough times.

three. Have a Talk

While you may dread having an honest conversation with the employee, this is a step you, unfortunately, cannot skip. Yous first want to permit the employee know that you've picked up on their beliefs and 2d, y'all want to requite them a chance to provide you with some insight into their motivations.

When you introduce the topic, ensure that you remain every bit objective as possible, and describe the actions of the employee every bit opposed to climbing into their character. You can, for instance, state you've noticed that they tend to have a lot of objections whenever y'all initiate new ideas or that they tend to isolate themselves from the rest of the squad.

This type of approach volition be far more conducive to a two-way dialogue than accusing the employee of having a negative mental attitude.

4. Listen and Respond To Their Side of the Story

When you lot're having a discussion with the employee, allow them to speak and express themselves. Doing so will provide the employee with an opportunity to blow off some steam, which may reduce some of their negativity to showtime with. Maybe all they need is to voice their frustration for once with a person who has authority.

Second, you want to establish why the employee is acting the way they exercise so that you tin address the root cause of the problem. Questions to ask an employee with a bad mental attitude can include asking them how they feel about their job, their beau squad members, and your management style.

Y'all may even find that the employee is not enlightened that they have been acting in a negative way. Let the employee know throughout the conversation that you're listening by providing feedback and acknowledging their feelings.

5. Motivate the Employee

One of the best ways to turn a person's attitude around is to motivate them. While y'all don't desire to tell the employee they're i of your best team members when they're non, you can highlight their unique strengths.

Ask the employee about their career aspirations and think of creative ways in which the employee tin can work towards attaining their goals.

It'south important that their personal evolution plan excites them and includes challenging yet attainable goals. Once an employee feels that coming to work is not just for survival just part of their journey toward realizing their dreams, they are jump to feel more energized and happier.

six. Set Measurable Goals

Apart from establishing personal evolution goals for the employee, you also demand to revisit your expectations of them and should communicate these clearly.

It may be a good idea to talk over expected standards when it comes to attitudes in the workplace and to include these in the employee's performance management process.

It's important that you get the employee on board and that they fully understand the effect that their negative beliefs is having on the rest of the squad. To provide the employee with the necessary support, try to establish measurable goals when it comes to improving their mental attitude.

For instance, when they make positive contributions to the squad by, for instance, picking upward a ill member's overtime shift, it should be noted in the employee'southward performance review.

7. Establish Regular Advice Sessions

Chances are that if you lot only take a once-off conversation with the employee, their attitude will not modify in the long run. As is the instance with about other changes in life, yous volition need to consistently work with them to change their beliefs at work.

This means that you will need to found regular feedback sessions with the employee and that you will need to closely monitor their performance.

Since y'all may not ever exist available to coach the employee, it may be a good idea to provide them with a mentor or to pair them a more senior team fellow member who can guide their behavior on a daily basis.

Read More than:

• What Would Yous Like Your Director To Practice Differently? Real Feedback From Employees
• 22 Tell-Tale Signs an Employee Is Non a Team Histrion
• How To Tell Someone They Are Not A Team Histrion (Without Offending Them)
• 18 Crucial Questions To Inquire An Underperforming Employee

Source: https://eggcellentwork.com/coaching-employee-with-negative-attitude/

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