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Bone Up on Dealing With Difficult Employees

You don’t have to run off to get a degree in psychology to learn how to deal with problem employees. But you should avail yourself of some knowledge.

In the past few years, several high-profile company executives who were tried on corruption charges claimed they were out of the loop when their subordinates committed malfeasance. Those I-had-no-clue executives proved in spectacular fashion how much an uninformed manager has on the line when it comes to problem employees.

They can ruin your business, drive away customers, and disrupt the office dynamic. If you feel at a total loss about tackling such problems, try a little knowledge. Take a seminar on resolving personnel conflicts, read a book, collect information online, or listen to a tape or CD.

Even if you decide to seek legal advice, you’ll benefit more from the encounter if you bring something to the table. Effective managers bone up on unfamiliar topics just to make sure they ask the right questions.

If a lack of time is preventing you from being proactive in personnel matters, start with Steve Leveen’s The Little Guide to Your Well-Read Life, a slender book that offers strategies on how to find interesting books, how to size them up quickly, and how to retain what you read. Reading to learn is a great way to invest in your employees, your company, and yourself.