Description
Management style * Command and control major contributor to bad attitudes * You cannot threaten take away what you cannot promise or guarantee.
1
I BAD ATTITUDE SURVIVAL GUIDE - OUTLINE
- Generally
• You cannot change someone else’s attitude.
• Bad attitudes must be described as behavior.
• Change behavior and attitudes may follow.
- Poor Performance
- Organizational change
• The change strategies implemented by management ultimately determine
the success or failure of the intended change.
• We all want the positive results of change, we just don’t want to make the
trip to get there.
• Yesterday’s behaviors will not support tomorrow’s growth.
- Looking ahead in our journey
- Why does this all matter
• Just doing your best isn’t good enough anymore. Today we have to get it
right.
• Management may be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be painful.
II BAD ATTITUDES, ROOT CAUSES
- Low self-esteem
- Fear
- Boredom
- Unresolved conflict
- Inability to accept change
- Resentment
Secondary contributors
- Stress/burnout
- Physical conditions
- Lack of understanding of organizational goals, mission, vision
- Past experience
- Lack of feedback
- Lack of recognition
III BAD ATTITUDES, MORE ROOT CAUSES
- Unresolved conflict
- Inability to accept change
- Resentment
Secondary contributors
- Stress/burnout
- Physical conditions
- Past experiences
- Lack of recognition
- Lack of feedback
2
- Lack of understanding of incremental goals, mission, vision
IV MANAGER SELF-ASSESSMENT
- Limitations, you can only influence what you have influence over
- Management style
• Command and control major contributor to bad attitudes
• You cannot threaten take away what you cannot promise or
guarantee
• Bad attitudes believe they are not being listened to
• Involve in the process
• Training targeted to develop the critical skills
• Technical skills make us good, the people skills with technical skills
make us great
• Objective measurement brings accountability and responsibility
- Corporate Culture
V THE ROLE OF CONFLICT IN INFLUENCING BAD ATTITUDES
- Bad attitude employees
• Lack conflict resolution skills
• Are mistrustful
• Personalize conflict
• Not solution oriented
• Bring historical perspective to conflict
- Bad attitude employee emotional conflict cascade
• Event
• Blaming
• Generalized and pervasive feelings
• Perceived threat escalation
• Selective victimization
• Behavioral responses
- Negative responses
• Avoidance
• Winning at all costs
• Capitulation
- Impediments to resolution
• Inflexibility
• Emotional barriers
- Foundations of successful conflict resolution
• Create conditions of flexibility
3
• Defuse emotional barriers
• Clearly identify the problem/cause
• Communicate effectively
VI POSITIVE CONFLICT RESOLUTION
- Third degree conflict
• Descriptions
Misunderstandings
Irrational behaviors
Unintended slights
Differences of opinion
Irritations
Minor miscommunications
Inconveniences
Disagreements on the interpretation of facts and data
• Third degree conflict strategies for addressing
Coping skills (avoidance is not coping)
Interactive communications
- Second degree conflict
• Description
Unresolved third degree conflict
Disagreements over methodology
Disagreements over mission
• Symptoms
Emotion/anger is visible
Negative projection becomes the norm
Personalization of conflict is high
Personal opinion is embraced as fact
Trust erodes
Fear of punishment or retribution increases
Passive aggressive behaviors may begin or intensify
Winning and saving face gain importance and may become
the dominant factor
Distorted communications begin to occur
• Strategies for addressing
Interactive communication
Mediation
- First degree conflict
• Symptoms
Low potential for successful resolution
Lack of intention or skills to resolve the conflict
The need for retribution or punishment overriding
everything
Individuals or groups having an interest in prolonging the
conflict
Required third party intervention
• Strategies for addressing
Mediation
Arbitration
VII TURNING AROUND BAD ATTITUDE BASED BEHAVIOR
4
- People out of control
• Turnaround strategies
Acknowledge their perceptions and avoid emotional
involvement
Neutralize their emotion
Identify and diagnose the real problem
Identify multiple options
Agree on future actions
- People who exhibit negative nonverbal communications
• Symptoms
Rolling the eyes
Looks of contempt
Gestures of disgust
Slamming doors
Kicking wastebaskets
Punching walls
• Turnaround strategies
Positive confronting statement
Describe the behavior
Summarize the perceived conclusion
- People who are defensive
• Symptoms
Blaming other things and other people
Denying responsibility
Pleading innocent to crimes they haven’t been charged with
Justifying or rationalizing their action
Personal attacks
• Turnaround strategies
Acknowledge and refocus
- Persons who pursue negative confrontations
• Symptoms
I’m just an honest person
I just tell it like it is
I’m only telling you this for your own good
• Causes
Want others to see things their way
Cruel
Demanding attention
• Turnaround strategies (really applies to all)
Don’ts
Stifle or silence the employee
Subject them to ridicule
5
Tell them they are wrong
Fall into the trap of arguing
Dos
Deal with it in private
Maintain dignity and respect
Use I and we based communication
Validate their input
Broaden the communications options
Identify consequences of future actions
VIII TURNING AROUND OTHER BAD ATTITUDE EMPLOYEES’ BEHAVIORS
- People who spread poison
• Symptoms
Covertness
Linkage to other past actions
Get others to carry the water
• Turnaround strategies
Meet the issue head on in public
Venting is problem identification, not problem solving
Confront poison spreader directly
- People who communicate in negative, exaggerated terms
• Symptoms
This always happens to me
You never say this to anyone else
This company never gets things right
This gets screwed up every time
• Turnaround strategy
Challenge the distorted communication
- People who vocalize narrow, personalized, self-serving beliefs
• Symptoms
You don’t like me
I am treated unfairly
You’re just doing that to aggravate me
You don’t say anything to anyone else but me
• Turnaround strategy
Depersonalize the issue
- People who fear the inevitable impending doom
• Symptoms
I’m afraid this decision will put us out of business
I’m afraid I’ll do something to make you fire me
I’m afraid the new competitor will eliminate my position
I’m afraid my pension won’t be there when I need it
6
I’m afraid I’m going to lose my job
Not seek promotion because increased responsibility
increases risk of failure
Refuse relocation or transfer because change may lead to
doom
Tendency to identify failures and discount success
• Turnaround strategies
Identify the worst case scenario
Summarize their fear
Affirm their thought process
Project the positive upside
Minimize the fear
Action plan for avoiding the catastrophe
- People who become the troll on the highway to change
• Symptoms
Been there, done that
The perception the person possesses unique knowledge
concerning the topic
The self-designated devil’s advocate
• Turnaround strategies
Acknowledge their statements
Affirm their perceptions
Assign them a part of the positive plan of action
- People who demonstrate inappropriate emotions
• Symptoms
Inappropriate verbal or physical displays
• Turnaround strategies
Let temper tantrum run its course
Identify it as inappropriate behavior
- People who distort reality and facts
• Unintentional distortions
Symptoms
Faulty judgment/observation
Exaggeration
Lack of awareness of what to communicate
Turnaround strategies
Training and communication
• Intentional distortions
Symptoms
Withholding of information or intentional
alteration of information
Turnaround strategies
7
Withholding/establish clear duty to
communicate complete information
Altering/hold them accountable for their actions
8
- People who pave the “one-way street”
• Symptoms
Arrogance
Selfishness
Intolerance of the ideas of others
• Turnaround strategies
Depersonalize the acceptance or rejection of input and ideas
While stressing the high value of their input, also stress the
equally high value of others’ input
Play the hypotheticals
- People who complain
• Symptoms
Trying to elicit sympathy for their burdens
• Turnaround strategies
Get a life
What’s different this time
Positive recognition to change behavior
Collaborate on resolution options
IX UNDERSTANDING WHY PERFORMANCE IS POOR
- Lack of ability to do the job
- Lack of proper knowledge, training or information to do the job
- Lack of confidence to do the job
- Performance impediments, real or imagined
- Attitudes of resistance or refusal to do the job
X TURNING AROUND POOR PERFORMANCE
- Types of poor performance
• Insubordination
• Personal problems
• Absenteeism and tardiness
• Employee who is skating
• Disruptive passive-aggressive behavior
• Procrastination
- Insubordination
• Turnaround strategies include counseling and verbal warning
- Personal problems
• Short term problems
Clearly identify the problem and its duration
Negotiate an agreement
Request documentation
Identify how employee will make up lost time
Enforce the agreement
• Long-term problems
Listen and maintain confidentiality
9
Demonstrate empathetic but not enabling sympathy
Reinforce standards, objectives, and expectations
Monitor employee to insure performance and maintain
accountability
- Absenteeism and tardiness
• Revisit policy
• Circumstances investigated
• Legitimate personal reasons dealt with as above
• Restate policy and emphasize unacceptability of conduct
• Identify discussion as verbal warning
• Monitor ongoing results
- Skating employee
• Symptoms
Employees who are not performing to ability for various
reasons unrelated to bad attitude
• Turnaround strategies
Appeal to their pride, primacy, or legacy
Increase their leadership role
- Disruptive passive-aggressive behavior
• Types
Sabotage
Talking behind people’s backs
Spreading negative rumors or gossip
Agreeing with management to his face, disagreeing behind
back
Making and intentionally breaking agreements and pleading
a misunderstanding
Undermine manager’s position by spreading rumors above
manager
• Turnaround strategies
Deal with employee in private
Let employee know you know what’s going on and that it
has to stop
- Procrastination
• Causes
Fear of failure
Resistance
Boredom
• Turnaround strategies
Fear/remove fear from task
Resistance/explain importance and downside to not
performing
Boredom/rotate tasks, structure tasks not to be boring,
assess the value of the tasks
XI THE DISCIPLINARY PROCESS
- Counseling
- Confrontation
10
- Documentation
XII MOTIVATING BAD ATTITUDE EMPLOYEES
- Hierarchy of needs
• Physiological and safety needs
• Affiliation and belonging needs
• Self-esteem and self-actualization needs
- The role of manager to motivation
• Setting goals
• Create a motivational culture
• Maintain dignity and respect
• Share recognition and rewards
- Strategies for success
• Increase skills inventory
• Communicate information
• Give employees influence and input
• Acknowledge individuality
• Acknowledge transferable skills
• Have fun
- Dos
• Give personal positive attention
• Listen
• Identify options or unfixables
• Feedback
• Praise positive change or performance
• Give away “how” decisions when possible
• Develop their skills
• Have fun
• Reward and recognized all contributions to success
• Negotiate their goals
- Don’ts
• Fail to listen
• Fail to have goals
• Give responsibility without authority
• Fail to give feedback
• Have poor information flow
• Fail to correct poor performance in others
• Furnish inadequate resources, including time
• Require repetitive work
• Be disorganized
• Fail to end things
XIII BAD ATTITUDE EMPLOYEES AND CHANGE
- Nature of change
o Inflicted or elected
o Inevitability of change
- Organizational change
11
- Bad attitude employees and change
• Defense against criticism
• Defense against loss
• Defense against potential unfairness
- Turnaround strategies
• Explain and interpret
• Listen to their perception of loss, fear, or resentment
• Make bridging agreements
• Establish accountability and consequence
• Announce the change early and often
• Celebrate past achievements
• Articulate your confidence in their ability
• Open up the how to do it
• Train the change
• Balance ongoing discussion with effective action
• Monitor incremental activity and results
• Monitor and celebrate the new achievements
• Confront resistance
• Implement consequences
• Display the courage to live the change
doc_884908061.pdf
Management style * Command and control major contributor to bad attitudes * You cannot threaten take away what you cannot promise or guarantee.
1
I BAD ATTITUDE SURVIVAL GUIDE - OUTLINE
- Generally
• You cannot change someone else’s attitude.
• Bad attitudes must be described as behavior.
• Change behavior and attitudes may follow.
- Poor Performance
- Organizational change
• The change strategies implemented by management ultimately determine
the success or failure of the intended change.
• We all want the positive results of change, we just don’t want to make the
trip to get there.
• Yesterday’s behaviors will not support tomorrow’s growth.
- Looking ahead in our journey
- Why does this all matter
• Just doing your best isn’t good enough anymore. Today we have to get it
right.
• Management may be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be painful.
II BAD ATTITUDES, ROOT CAUSES
- Low self-esteem
- Fear
- Boredom
- Unresolved conflict
- Inability to accept change
- Resentment
Secondary contributors
- Stress/burnout
- Physical conditions
- Lack of understanding of organizational goals, mission, vision
- Past experience
- Lack of feedback
- Lack of recognition
III BAD ATTITUDES, MORE ROOT CAUSES
- Unresolved conflict
- Inability to accept change
- Resentment
Secondary contributors
- Stress/burnout
- Physical conditions
- Past experiences
- Lack of recognition
- Lack of feedback
2
- Lack of understanding of incremental goals, mission, vision
IV MANAGER SELF-ASSESSMENT
- Limitations, you can only influence what you have influence over
- Management style
• Command and control major contributor to bad attitudes
• You cannot threaten take away what you cannot promise or
guarantee
• Bad attitudes believe they are not being listened to
• Involve in the process
• Training targeted to develop the critical skills
• Technical skills make us good, the people skills with technical skills
make us great
• Objective measurement brings accountability and responsibility
- Corporate Culture
V THE ROLE OF CONFLICT IN INFLUENCING BAD ATTITUDES
- Bad attitude employees
• Lack conflict resolution skills
• Are mistrustful
• Personalize conflict
• Not solution oriented
• Bring historical perspective to conflict
- Bad attitude employee emotional conflict cascade
• Event
• Blaming
• Generalized and pervasive feelings
• Perceived threat escalation
• Selective victimization
• Behavioral responses
- Negative responses
• Avoidance
• Winning at all costs
• Capitulation
- Impediments to resolution
• Inflexibility
• Emotional barriers
- Foundations of successful conflict resolution
• Create conditions of flexibility
3
• Defuse emotional barriers
• Clearly identify the problem/cause
• Communicate effectively
VI POSITIVE CONFLICT RESOLUTION
- Third degree conflict
• Descriptions
Misunderstandings
Irrational behaviors
Unintended slights
Differences of opinion
Irritations
Minor miscommunications
Inconveniences
Disagreements on the interpretation of facts and data
• Third degree conflict strategies for addressing
Coping skills (avoidance is not coping)
Interactive communications
- Second degree conflict
• Description
Unresolved third degree conflict
Disagreements over methodology
Disagreements over mission
• Symptoms
Emotion/anger is visible
Negative projection becomes the norm
Personalization of conflict is high
Personal opinion is embraced as fact
Trust erodes
Fear of punishment or retribution increases
Passive aggressive behaviors may begin or intensify
Winning and saving face gain importance and may become
the dominant factor
Distorted communications begin to occur
• Strategies for addressing
Interactive communication
Mediation
- First degree conflict
• Symptoms
Low potential for successful resolution
Lack of intention or skills to resolve the conflict
The need for retribution or punishment overriding
everything
Individuals or groups having an interest in prolonging the
conflict
Required third party intervention
• Strategies for addressing
Mediation
Arbitration
VII TURNING AROUND BAD ATTITUDE BASED BEHAVIOR
4
- People out of control
• Turnaround strategies
Acknowledge their perceptions and avoid emotional
involvement
Neutralize their emotion
Identify and diagnose the real problem
Identify multiple options
Agree on future actions
- People who exhibit negative nonverbal communications
• Symptoms
Rolling the eyes
Looks of contempt
Gestures of disgust
Slamming doors
Kicking wastebaskets
Punching walls
• Turnaround strategies
Positive confronting statement
Describe the behavior
Summarize the perceived conclusion
- People who are defensive
• Symptoms
Blaming other things and other people
Denying responsibility
Pleading innocent to crimes they haven’t been charged with
Justifying or rationalizing their action
Personal attacks
• Turnaround strategies
Acknowledge and refocus
- Persons who pursue negative confrontations
• Symptoms
I’m just an honest person
I just tell it like it is
I’m only telling you this for your own good
• Causes
Want others to see things their way
Cruel
Demanding attention
• Turnaround strategies (really applies to all)
Don’ts
Stifle or silence the employee
Subject them to ridicule
5
Tell them they are wrong
Fall into the trap of arguing
Dos
Deal with it in private
Maintain dignity and respect
Use I and we based communication
Validate their input
Broaden the communications options
Identify consequences of future actions
VIII TURNING AROUND OTHER BAD ATTITUDE EMPLOYEES’ BEHAVIORS
- People who spread poison
• Symptoms
Covertness
Linkage to other past actions
Get others to carry the water
• Turnaround strategies
Meet the issue head on in public
Venting is problem identification, not problem solving
Confront poison spreader directly
- People who communicate in negative, exaggerated terms
• Symptoms
This always happens to me
You never say this to anyone else
This company never gets things right
This gets screwed up every time
• Turnaround strategy
Challenge the distorted communication
- People who vocalize narrow, personalized, self-serving beliefs
• Symptoms
You don’t like me
I am treated unfairly
You’re just doing that to aggravate me
You don’t say anything to anyone else but me
• Turnaround strategy
Depersonalize the issue
- People who fear the inevitable impending doom
• Symptoms
I’m afraid this decision will put us out of business
I’m afraid I’ll do something to make you fire me
I’m afraid the new competitor will eliminate my position
I’m afraid my pension won’t be there when I need it
6
I’m afraid I’m going to lose my job
Not seek promotion because increased responsibility
increases risk of failure
Refuse relocation or transfer because change may lead to
doom
Tendency to identify failures and discount success
• Turnaround strategies
Identify the worst case scenario
Summarize their fear
Affirm their thought process
Project the positive upside
Minimize the fear
Action plan for avoiding the catastrophe
- People who become the troll on the highway to change
• Symptoms
Been there, done that
The perception the person possesses unique knowledge
concerning the topic
The self-designated devil’s advocate
• Turnaround strategies
Acknowledge their statements
Affirm their perceptions
Assign them a part of the positive plan of action
- People who demonstrate inappropriate emotions
• Symptoms
Inappropriate verbal or physical displays
• Turnaround strategies
Let temper tantrum run its course
Identify it as inappropriate behavior
- People who distort reality and facts
• Unintentional distortions
Symptoms
Faulty judgment/observation
Exaggeration
Lack of awareness of what to communicate
Turnaround strategies
Training and communication
• Intentional distortions
Symptoms
Withholding of information or intentional
alteration of information
Turnaround strategies
7
Withholding/establish clear duty to
communicate complete information
Altering/hold them accountable for their actions
8
- People who pave the “one-way street”
• Symptoms
Arrogance
Selfishness
Intolerance of the ideas of others
• Turnaround strategies
Depersonalize the acceptance or rejection of input and ideas
While stressing the high value of their input, also stress the
equally high value of others’ input
Play the hypotheticals
- People who complain
• Symptoms
Trying to elicit sympathy for their burdens
• Turnaround strategies
Get a life
What’s different this time
Positive recognition to change behavior
Collaborate on resolution options
IX UNDERSTANDING WHY PERFORMANCE IS POOR
- Lack of ability to do the job
- Lack of proper knowledge, training or information to do the job
- Lack of confidence to do the job
- Performance impediments, real or imagined
- Attitudes of resistance or refusal to do the job
X TURNING AROUND POOR PERFORMANCE
- Types of poor performance
• Insubordination
• Personal problems
• Absenteeism and tardiness
• Employee who is skating
• Disruptive passive-aggressive behavior
• Procrastination
- Insubordination
• Turnaround strategies include counseling and verbal warning
- Personal problems
• Short term problems
Clearly identify the problem and its duration
Negotiate an agreement
Request documentation
Identify how employee will make up lost time
Enforce the agreement
• Long-term problems
Listen and maintain confidentiality
9
Demonstrate empathetic but not enabling sympathy
Reinforce standards, objectives, and expectations
Monitor employee to insure performance and maintain
accountability
- Absenteeism and tardiness
• Revisit policy
• Circumstances investigated
• Legitimate personal reasons dealt with as above
• Restate policy and emphasize unacceptability of conduct
• Identify discussion as verbal warning
• Monitor ongoing results
- Skating employee
• Symptoms
Employees who are not performing to ability for various
reasons unrelated to bad attitude
• Turnaround strategies
Appeal to their pride, primacy, or legacy
Increase their leadership role
- Disruptive passive-aggressive behavior
• Types
Sabotage
Talking behind people’s backs
Spreading negative rumors or gossip
Agreeing with management to his face, disagreeing behind
back
Making and intentionally breaking agreements and pleading
a misunderstanding
Undermine manager’s position by spreading rumors above
manager
• Turnaround strategies
Deal with employee in private
Let employee know you know what’s going on and that it
has to stop
- Procrastination
• Causes
Fear of failure
Resistance
Boredom
• Turnaround strategies
Fear/remove fear from task
Resistance/explain importance and downside to not
performing
Boredom/rotate tasks, structure tasks not to be boring,
assess the value of the tasks
XI THE DISCIPLINARY PROCESS
- Counseling
- Confrontation
10
- Documentation
XII MOTIVATING BAD ATTITUDE EMPLOYEES
- Hierarchy of needs
• Physiological and safety needs
• Affiliation and belonging needs
• Self-esteem and self-actualization needs
- The role of manager to motivation
• Setting goals
• Create a motivational culture
• Maintain dignity and respect
• Share recognition and rewards
- Strategies for success
• Increase skills inventory
• Communicate information
• Give employees influence and input
• Acknowledge individuality
• Acknowledge transferable skills
• Have fun
- Dos
• Give personal positive attention
• Listen
• Identify options or unfixables
• Feedback
• Praise positive change or performance
• Give away “how” decisions when possible
• Develop their skills
• Have fun
• Reward and recognized all contributions to success
• Negotiate their goals
- Don’ts
• Fail to listen
• Fail to have goals
• Give responsibility without authority
• Fail to give feedback
• Have poor information flow
• Fail to correct poor performance in others
• Furnish inadequate resources, including time
• Require repetitive work
• Be disorganized
• Fail to end things
XIII BAD ATTITUDE EMPLOYEES AND CHANGE
- Nature of change
o Inflicted or elected
o Inevitability of change
- Organizational change
11
- Bad attitude employees and change
• Defense against criticism
• Defense against loss
• Defense against potential unfairness
- Turnaround strategies
• Explain and interpret
• Listen to their perception of loss, fear, or resentment
• Make bridging agreements
• Establish accountability and consequence
• Announce the change early and often
• Celebrate past achievements
• Articulate your confidence in their ability
• Open up the how to do it
• Train the change
• Balance ongoing discussion with effective action
• Monitor incremental activity and results
• Monitor and celebrate the new achievements
• Confront resistance
• Implement consequences
• Display the courage to live the change
doc_884908061.pdf