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Manage difficult situations: Content guide

Contents

Manage difficult situations: Content guide

Overview

Key terms

Be alert for problems

Encourage feedback

Watch out for the symptoms

Performance management

Performance gaps

Why is the performance gap happening?

Problem-solving and performance gaps

Checklist for a performance gap discussion

Conflict management

What is conflict?

How to deal with conflict

Outcomes of conflict

Achieving positive outcomes

More resources

Sample answers to ‘My workplace’ questions

Overview

Difficult situations will often arise in the workplace. If you handle them fairly and resolve them quickly they don't need have a negative impact on your team. They may even lead to improvements. But how can you achieve this? This Content guide contains information and to help you:

  • identify problems in the workplace
  • manage poor work performance, while adhering to your organisation’s policies and procedures
  • manage conflict constructively.

Key terms

360 degree feedback

Performance feedback is sought from multiple perspectives, eg self, peers, supervisor, customers, staff.

Conflict

Conflict happens when a person or group of people perceives there is a difference with another person or group and this results in interference or opposition.

Conflict management

The traditional view of conflict is that conflict is bad and must be avoided. A more positive view of conflict is that it is a natural and inevitable thing that happens in any organisation. Conflict management aims to harness conflict to achieve positive outcomes.

Performance gap

The difference between the required performance and the actual performance.

Performance management

A process for creating a shared understanding of what an individual is to achieve and managing and developing individuals to achieve in both the short and longer term.

Be alert for problems

Think about what happens to your work team, your organisation, yourself and your team members when difficult situations come up. If you handle them fairly and resolve them quickly they usually won’t have a big impact. In many cases, they may even lead to improvements.

But if problems or difficulties are handled badly, or if they go on for a long time, they will have a serious impact on productivity, efficiency, turnover, waste, quality and motivation.

Problems can involve:

  • just yourself, eg you have too much to do in one day
  • individual team members, eg a team member is continually late
  • your whole work team, eg your team is not meeting monthly targets
  • the organisation as a whole, eg income has been reduced and costs must be cut.

Encourage feedback

A team that gives and asks for constructive feedback will have a lot more information to work with than a team that doesn’t. And information is the key to problem solving!

A good way to keep information flowing so that you are aware of problems before they can do too much damage is to use what we call 360 degree feedback. This means that both you and your team members get into a habit of asking for feedback from:

  • your peers (colleagues)
  • your supervisor or manager
  • your staff
  • your customers
  • your suppliers, and
  • yourself (reflect on your own performance — ask 'How am I doing?').

Some organisations use this as a recognised system for feedback for all employees. But there doesn’t need to be a formal system in place for you to apply these principles in your team.

Watch out for the symptoms

There are some obvious signs and symptoms of potentially difficult situations.

  • Negativity — a team member or team members have a pessimistic attitude to their work.
  • Increased absences — sick leave and lateness increases.
  • Gossip — if something goes wrong, your co-workers will probably find out about it. However, when you find that your co-workers are continually discussing the problems of an individual or the organisation, then you know there is definitely a problem.
  • Loss in productivity — productivity often drops when an individual or unit is troubled. For example, when morale is low, team members can easily develop a lazy attitude about work, leading to losses in quality and quantity.
  • Challenging authority — if team members feel there is problem, often they will attribute the cause of the problem to their managers. Managers are the ones who have the vision and set the organisational goals, so when things go wrong on a large scale, team members can lose confidence in the organisational leadership. Team members may then begin to challenge a person they think is ineffective as a leader.
  • Resignations — are employees jumping ship? If so, this could be symptomatic of a serious problem. If an employee would rather quit than continue to work towards the organisational goals then there is a serious problem.

My workplace

1. What are some signs that you can watch out for that show there may be a problem in your workplace?

Answer:

Further reading…

Cole, K (2001) Supervision The theory and practice of first-line management.Prentice Hall: Sydney, Ch 2 pp 606-624, and/or

Robbins, S, Bergman, R, Stagg, I & Coulter, M (2003) Management. 3rd Edition. Prentice Hall: Sydney, Ch 16 pp 482-502.

These books talk about different approaches to leadership (leadership theories, or ways of thinking about being a manager):

  • trait approach – these theories say you need certain traits or qualities to be a manager, eg confidence, intelligence, initiative
  • behavioural approach – these theories often put managers into categories according to how the manager behaves, eg authoritarian or democratic
  • situational approach – these theories say that effective managers vary their leadership style to suit the situation (also called the contingency approach)

Think about how these approaches provide guidelines to how you interact with your team, and solve problems in the workplace.

Performance management

Have you ever had a situation where a member of your team is not performing to standard, or not behaving appropriately? The answer is probably yes! Let’s look at it in terms of the bigger picture of performance management.

Performance management is all about helping your team members to do a good job. It’s about setting clear goals, giving positive feedback and taking action when there’s a problem.

Table: Some aspects of performance management

Performance management is about… / This means you will…
Creating a shared understanding of what a team member is expected to achieve at work. / Set clear goals and standards.
Help team members to understand these goals and standards.
Identifying performance gaps when they occur, and agreeing on action to close those gaps. / Monitor team members’ performance.
Bring performance problems to their attention.
Find out why there is a performance problem.
Agree on action to bring performance back to standard.
Doing things every day to supervise and develop individuals so they can achieve their short and long term goals. / Manage by walking around (talk to your staff and be around them).
Praise good performance.
Coach team members when needed.
Listen to their concerns and suggestions.
Organise training when needed.

Performance gaps

Now let’s look more closely at the second row in the table above. A performance gap is the difference between the performance or behaviour that is required, and what the team member actually does.

A performance gap

Why is the performance gap happening?

The number one rule at this point is ‘think before you act’. Don't assume that it is a problem with an individual. Maybe the team has never had clear instructions about a task. Or an individual may not have the proper tools or resources they need.

Ask yourself some questions before you talk to your team member!

Table: Questions to ask yourself before you talk to a team member about a performance problem.

Yes / No
  1. Is there a clear standard or measure of performance, and is the team member aware of it?

  1. Can you measure or quantify or give clear examples of the gap between the performance standard and the team member’s output?

  1. Has the team member been fully trained or coached in the job?

  1. Is there anything in the environment or workplace such as poor tools, lack of information or time, inadequate materials, or workplace procedures that make good performance difficult?

Did you answer ‘no’ to questions 1, 2 or 3? Did you answer ‘yes’ to question 4?

If so, then you need to look at these things first. It would be unfair to conduct a performance management discussion with your team member if you think that the poor performance may be caused by factors outside their control!

Did you answer ‘yes’ to questions 1, 2 and 3? Did you answer ‘no’ to question 4?

If so, then you will probably need to conduct a performance management discussion with your team member. When you prepare for this:

  • be sure that the purpose of the meeting is clear — know exactly what you expect from the team member
  • gather any relevant personal details about the team member that are on record
  • be clear about their work performance (be accurate and specific) and the standard of work required (again, be specific about quantity and quality); use this information to clearly state their performance gap, either in a measurable or quantifiable way, or using examples of specific things they did.

Problem-solving and performance gaps

We now come to the moment when you've decided that you need to talk to a team member about a performance gap. This situation can often be difficult for you as a team leader because people’s emotions and feelings of self-worth come into play. One way to keep a positive focus is to think of this as a problem-solving activity.

Applying the steps for problem-solving applied to dealing with a performance gap

Problem-solving step / Problem-solving skills / Talking to a team member about a performance gap
1. PROBLEM / Describe the problem
Identify the outcome you want
Ask for help / Describe the performance gap
Explain what you expect the employee to do
Ask the employee why it is happening. Ask them to contribute to a solution
2. SOLUTION / Develop options
Consider the consequences
Make the decision
Develop an action plan / Both you and the employee generate strategies for fixing the performance gap
Discuss the merits of the various options and agree on a solution
Develop a clear action plan that states who does what, and by when
3. REVIEW / Ask yourself how it’s going and when it’s finished, how it went. / Measure the performance
Has the performance gap decreased?
Is the employee implementing the agreed solution?

My workplace

2. What policies and procedures are there in your workplace for performance management? Get a copy of these procedures.

Are there any parts that you are unsure about? Who can you go to for help or advice?

Answer:

Checklist for a performance gap discussion

Use this checklist to prepare for, or review how you handle a performance gap discussion with a team member.

Table: Checklist for a performance gap discussion

PART A
Stages of the discussion / What will I/did I say or do?
Describe the performance gap.
Be specific, give examples: ‘You came back late from lunch more than 15 minutes three days this week.’
Explain the consequences of the performance gap. For example ‘This is causing a backlog of work.’
Explain what you expect the employee to do, for example, ‘Be on time, or warn me beforehand if you need to be out so we can cover for you.’
Ask the employee why it is happening. Ask them to contribute to a solution.
Both you and the employee generate strategies for fixing the performance gap.
Look for solutions together — where the team member makes practical suggestions, try to use them.
Discuss the merits of the various options and agree on a solution.
Develop a clear action plan that states who does what, and by when.
Record the key points discussed and actions to be taken.
Agreeon a time frame for review.
PART B
Behaviours during the discussion / What did I say or do?
Be positive. Focus on improvement, not failure. Target the behaviour you want to discuss. Avoid any judgmental words.
Remain calm and avoid interrupting or talking over the other person.
Use statements about what you have observed, or what you believe. Avoid quoting others.
Use open questions— who, what, where, how, why and when, to get the person involved in identifying possible causes and possible solutions.
Use active listening skills. Paraphrase, summarise, and reflect during the discussion to ensure both of you have the same understanding of the problem and its possible causes.

My workplace

3. Use the checklist to review a performance discussion that you have had recently with a team member. How could you improve future performance discussions that you have with your team members?

Answer:

Conflict management

What is conflict?

Conflict can occur between people because there are:

  • differences in interpretation of facts, methods or goals
  • differences in values and beliefs
  • different treatment of individuals and groups.

Here are some common causes of conflict in organisations:

  • lack of resources
  • frustration with people, systems or processes
  • blockages due to bureaucratic procedures (red tape), approvals, policy, payment and so on
  • change, eg new staff come on board, or new systems are implemented, or external consultants come into the organisation
  • inequity, such as unfair treatment
  • jealousy shown through favouritism.

My workplace

4. What are some causes or triggers for conflict in your workplace?

Answer:

How to deal with conflict

It may sound strange at first, but sometimes you need to stimulate conflict to cause improvements and change. Put another way, it’s better to get your team to talk about problems or grievances, rather than letting them ‘stew’ or worry about things — nothing gets solved like that!

The important thing is to communicate. Talk to people regularly, not just when there’s something wrong. If there seems to be something wrong, ask them to tell you what is happening.

In conflict situations people can become anxious or aggressive. It’s your job to keep things on track.

Remember these important things:

  • Stay calm. It’s quite possible that at least one person may be in a very excitable, volatile state. If you are in the same condition, the chances of coming to a resolution are very small. You must remain calm.
  • Find a private space. If the conflict was initiated in front of other team members, ask the person to go with you to your office or a conference room to discuss the conflict out of the way of prying eyes and ears. The fewer disturbances the conflict creates for the group, the better.
  • Look for the real issue. When a team member feels strongly enough about something to act, he or she may cloud the issue by making far-flung accusations and ultimatums. You need to get to the heart of the matter and find out what is really upsetting them. Ask simple things like, ‘Can you tell me more about what happened?’
  • Meet the problem head on. Don’t avoid the real issues. Now is the time to engage in the conflict and acknowledge any correct facts presented by the other person. Then, either agree or disagree with them. If you disagree, explain your reasons clearly.
  • Solve the problem. Work with the individual to figure out how to change his or her belief that there is a problem. Or, if there really is a problem, work on how to solve that problem. You might ask the person how he or she would solve the situation or what he or she would do differently to avoid the problem in the future.

Outcomes of conflict

Conflict usually results in either a positive or negative outcome. These outcomes are measured in terms of either an improvement in performance (positive outcome) or a decline in performance (negative outcome).

Table: Productive and unproductive conflict

Productive conflict results in positive outcomes: / Unproductive conflict results in negative outcomes:
Better decisions / Stress
An increase in motivation / Loss of group cohesion
Stimulation of creativity / Decrease in productivity
Problems being brought out into the open / Increased absenteeism and turnover
Increased self-awareness / Communication difficulties
Change / Discontent

Achieving positive outcomes

When you manage difficulties or issues in your workplace, it’s a good idea to reflect on how you went. Ask yourself some of the following questions, which will assist you next time you are dealing with difficult situations in your workplace. You could do this individually or with your team.

  1. What went well and less well? What did I do to contribute to the outcome? What do I know that I didn’t know before?
  2. What have I learned about behaviour? About myself, about the way other people behave? What insights have I gained about dealing with this kind of experience in the future?
  3. What do I need to challenge about the way I behave? Are there any old ideas or behaviours I need to unlearn first?
  4. How, where and when can I use this knowledge to improve my performance?

My workplace

5. Think of a recent difficulty you have managed within your team. What guidance or support did you seek out to help you to resolve the workplace difficulty? How did it help you to resolve it?

Would you do anything differently now?

Answer:

More resources

If you're keen to find out more about this topic, look for these books in your local library.

Benjamin N (2002) Frontline Management Competencies: Learning guide for BSBFLM403B implement effective workplace relationships. Pearson Education Australia: Sydney.

Birchall G & Colwill J (1996) Working relationships, Longman: Sydney.