Module 5 of 2WA's Managing People Program ... Dealing with Difficult People

1. How To Manage PeopleWELCOME
to the
Module 5
Dealing with Difficult People

2. Session Objectives
Discover reasons why people don’t do what they are
supposed to do and what you can do about it
Explore the situational leadership model and
determine if you are adjusting your style as needed to
address the motivation, confidence and abilities of
others

3. What Have You Tried?
What is one action that you have done
differently since Module 4?

4. 17 Reasons Why People
Don’t Do What They Are
Supposed to Do … And
What To Do About It

5. REASONS WHY PEOPLE DON’T DO AS YOU
HAVE REQUESTED
No. Reason Solution
1 They don’t know what they are supposed to do Let them know what they are supposed to do
2 They don’t know how to do it Find out if they know how to do it
3 They don’t know why they should do it Let them know why they should do it
4 They think your way won’t work Demonstrate to them that your way will work
5 They think their way is better If their way is not better, demonstrate to them why
it is not better
6 They think something else is more important Let them know the work priorities
7 They anticipate future negative consequences Demonstrate to them that anticipated future
negative consequences for attempting to perform
the work will not occur
8 Personal problems Work around the problems (e.g. reassign work,
refer to EAP)

6. REASONS WHY PEOPLE DON’T DO AS YOU HAVE
REQUESTED
No. Reason Solution
9 Personal limits Verify the work is not beyond their personal limits
10 Obstacles beyond their control Verify no obstacles beyond their control. Remove obstacles /
give employees strategy for going around obstacles
11 No one could do it Verify that it can be done
12 They think they are doing it Give them performance feedback specifically and frequently
13 No positive consequences to them for
doing it
Verbally reward good performance specifically and
frequently
14 They are punished for doing what they
are supposed to do
Remove negative consequences for good performance or
balance them with positive reinforcement
15 They are rewarded for not doing it Remove positive consequences for poor performance
16 No negative consequence to them for
performing badly
Use negative consequences only with consistent poor
performance (progressive discipline)
17 They forgot to do it Ensure reminders are set up so people don’t forget

7. Exercise
1. Identify & describe where employee did NOT meet
expectation / goal
2. Review the 17 Reasons & outline prime reason for
behaviour
3. Determine specific actions to address the situation
4. Outline YOUR stop / start doing to prevent situation
/ help team/area better meet expectations & goals
ROW Supervisor Training June 2012

8. Dealing with Difficult People
 Hostile-Aggressive: Overtly
abusive behaviour, raised voices.
 Note: if there is violence, report it to your
supervisor / HR
 Complainer: Repeated focus only
on what is wrong with the situation
 Unresponsive / Passive: Says
little / hard to read
 Hesitant to make a decision,
won’t take initiative: Won’t
make decisions within role or
take initiative to do things
 Speak negatively about you
or others; gossip: Tend to
spread ill feelings by what they
say and how they judge others.

9. 5 P’s & Individual Behaviours
The 5Ps Applied to Individual Behaviour
Problem – why is status quo not
an option?
What is the behaviour and why is repeating the behaviour
unacceptable?
Picture – what will the change look
like when fully implemented?
What is the new / refined behaviour that you want to see?
What is the metric that will tell you it is being demonstrated?
Plan – what are the steps that need
to be taken to ensure picture is
achieved?
What is going to happen this week and next week to ensure
plan is implemented?
Part – what is the specific
responsibility of each person in
implementing plan?
What are the specific tasks / steps being assigned to the
individual and what is your part?
Progress – how to measure if
picture achieved?
How and how often will we monitor if plan is on track and
desired picture being achieved?

10. 5P’s & Individual Behaviours
Use the 5 P’s to articulate what you might say to change behaviours:
 PROBLEM
 PICTURE
 PLAN
 PART for individual & self as supervisor
 PROGRESS
10

11. Situational Leadership

12. Leader Styles
Leadership Styles Low Task High Task
High Process Cheerleader Coach
Low Process On-Call Drillmaster

14. Follower Styles
Leadership
Styles
High Ability Low Ability
Confidence /
Motivation
Intern
(low confidence, high motivation)
Rookie
(low confidence, high motivation)
Confidence /
Motivation
Veteran
(high confidence, high motivation)
I Don’t Want To!
(low confidence, low motivation)

15. Different Followers need Different Leader
Styles
Interns need Cheerleaders Rookies need Coaches
Veterans need On-Call I Don’t Want To! need
Drillmasters

16. Applying Situational Leadership to Your
Workplace
 In each of the boxes below, list at least one
individual who you manage or who you
know, who is one of the following styles
when it comes to doing a task. Indicate
what behaviours you see that lead you to
identify someone as an Intern, Rookie, etc.

17. Drillmaster
People for whom it comes naturally:
 Enjoy analyzing objective criteria of
performance
 Value efficiency
 Personalities and feeling do not play a
major role in work
 Enjoy marshalling necessary physical and
financial resources
People drawn naturally to other styles:
 May find it difficult to give detailed
instructions
 May not follow up in a task-focused
manner.
 May not be good at teaching basic skills
 May raise subordinates expectations too
early, too high
When not to use:
 When subordinates are:
 Skilled
 Experienced
 Willing
 Confident
 Responsible
Possible outcomes of misuse:
 Wasted supervision time and energy
 Resentment
 Ideas withheld
 Loss of motivation
 Loss of confidence
 Lack of development

18. Coach
People for whom it comes naturally:
 Value harmony and efficiency
 Their concern with facts is blended with
genuine, personal interest in their
subordinates
 Highly motivated to help others get the
job done
 May have trouble “letting loose” and to let
subordinates develop
People drawn naturally to other styles:
 May focus only on results and see
relationship behaviour as only tangential
and not necessary
 May be so concerned with people than
task completion takes second place
 May simply be uncomfortable working,
closely, day-by-day, with subordinates
When not to use:
 When subordinates are either:
 Fully qualified and experienced,
motivated, and willing to learn more
 Have little or no skill, experience, or
confidence in the task under issue
Possible outcomes of misuse:
 Wasted supervision time and energy
 Experienced, motivated workers may
see this style as meddlesome or
manipulative
 New people may be bewildered by
attempts to over involve them

19. Cheerleader
People for whom it comes naturally:
 Focus intuitively on feelings of others
 Understand others and take pleasure in
helping them develop
 Prefer a warm personal touch
 Avoid conflicts
 May be seen as permissive,
unconcerned with productivity
People drawn naturally to other styles:
 May be uncomfortable with
“cheerleading / encouraging” behaviour
 Initially may feel awkward or artificial
 May need to practice being warm,
personal, and encouraging
When not to use:
 When subordinates are:
 Not performing up to standard
 Unwilling, inexperienced, unskilled,
or not showing any initiative
Possible outcomes of misuse:
 Sharing responsibility with or seeking
consensus from unwilling or
inexperienced subordinates can lead to
weak solutions or lengthy delays
 When workers want or need close
direction, a lack of it can lead to loss of
respect and reduced effort.
 Can appear patronizing to some styles
and types.

20. On-call
People for whom it comes naturally:
 Those who enjoy concentrating on the
‘big picture’
 Those who prefer to monitor
implementation of policy
 Future oriented people
 May ignore day-to-day activities and
specific problems, and may seem aloof
 Find it difficult to detect slipping morale,
decreasing production and decrease in
quality
People drawn naturally to other styles:
 May find it hard to “let go”
 May be seen as interfering
 May miss the satisfaction that comes
from providing personal support systems
When not to use:
 When subordinates are:
 New, inexperienced or unskilled in a
particular task
 Unwilling or unmotivated
 Not comfortable nor confident with the
assignment
Possible outcomes of misuse:
 Lack of direction when it is needed
can cause frustrations and withdrawal
 The leader’s absence may be viewed
as indifferent.

21. Evaluation