Understanding Employee Behavior

Course details

Understanding employee behaviour is critical to be a successful manager. A manager will inevitably encounter direct reports who exhibit difficult behaviour, which can disrupt entire teams or departments. It becomes the job of the manager to confront difficult behaviour as early as possible to minimize the disruption. No matter if they are blatant or less obvious, behavioural issues need to be addressed before they affect morale and productivity. If ignored, they will eventually affect the team, the company, and possibly even the career of the manager. Confronting behavioural problems as they arise can quickly get things back on track and can lead to a more positive work environment for all. This course introduces best practices for confronting your direct reports about their difficult and sometimes misguided behaviour.

Expected Accomplishments

• Understand the baffling reasons behind employees who have the capacity to perform, don't do so
• Take control of the toughest performance and attitude problems, confidently and correctly
• Conduct performance reviews that bring about the positive behaviour that is expected
• Coach and give feedback that challenges under-performers to do their best

Course Outline

• Why employees don't perform - the first step to breaking down resistance
• Why difficult employees act the way they do
• The negative ripple effect of poor performance in today's work place
• Why efforts to correct performance fail
• Creating a sense of ownership in employees who are barely skating by
• Reprogram pessimists to see the glass half full -not half empty
• Saying "No" to energy-draining, high-maintenance employees
• Bringing a negative attitude into clear focus - then zapping it
• Questions to ask to break the ice and get the conversation going
• Heading off negative emotions - and what to do if not possible
• A checklist for avoiding unwanted surprises during the review
• Wrapping up the review on a positive and motivating note
• Using coaching and feedback to challenge underperformers to do their best
• Giving feedback: Could what is being said getting nowhere?
• Using the power of open communication to conquer any and all underperformance
• Coaching: Is it the missing component in the curb?
• Review the management style: stage setting for poor attitudes
• Criticizing the behaviour, not the person
• Gaining the upper hand simply by listening
• The lost art of confronting problems, directly and professionally
• Building an environment where open communication is practiced by everyone
• Putting the spirit of hard work, high morale and peak performance back into the work place
• Using the power as a leader to positively influence everyone around