Managing a Tricky Project Team Member

Project managementcan be a stressful and high pressure environment, and the last thing you need when you are already juggling deadlines, resources and client demands is someone on your own side who appears to be working against you. Sometimes people on your team are not as cooperative as they could be, or appear to be wilfully stubborn or unhelpful, and this sort of awkward situation can be enough to leave even the most experienced project manager with worry lines.

It can be tempting to brush it all under the carpet, and pretend it just isn’t happening. After all, it is a whole lot easier to put up with the awkward behaviour than it will be to face the potential repercussions of raising it as an issue. However, ignoring the problem will not make it go away, and as a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the bottom of the problem and ensure it stops happening, otherwise you risk the happiness and motivation of the entire team.

Tips to help you deal with a difficult employee

Confronting a difficult employee and managing them effectively is never going to be easy, but it is a business necessity. Here are 8 tips to help you cope and to stay cool and calm in the process.

1. Take immediate action: The longer you leave it, the more unmanageable the situation will become. Don’t think the behaviour has gone un-noted by the rest of your team – they are just waiting to see what you’ll do, and if you do nothing, you risk losing their respect.
2. Take it out of the office: To maintain confidentiality and professional courtesy, it is important to have the conversation in a private area, such as a meeting room or private office.
3. Be specific: Phrases like “You’ve been difficult” or “Your attitude seems very negative” are not particularly productive. Try to be specific about a time and a place where you heard or experienced something that gave you cause for concern.
4. Listen: Give the employee a fair chance to respond to your concerns, and really listen to what they are saying rather than making up your mind before they’ve even started.
5. Make it clear: Define what is inappropriate about their behaviour, and demonstrate to the employee what the consequences of their continued actions could be – how it could affect the team, the project and ultimately their job.
6. Outline your expectations: Define clearly what you expect to happen next. If you will give the employee a week or a month to make improvements, fine, but if you need them to make changes immediately then you need to tell them so.
7. Write it down: Make notes during the meeting, and get this written up into a summary document after. Give a copy to the employee and put a copy in their personnel file.
8. Monitor and take action: Monitor the effect the meeting has had, and whether the changes you requested are being implemented. Do not be afraid to use formal disciplinary procedures if action is not taken.

Project management can frequently be a very stressful role with tight deadlines, limited resources and pressure from customers so don't add to the stress by allowing a rogue team member to jeopardise the project. Take early action to confront team members who are not striving for a successful project outcome.