4

ADVICE needed - People skills and conflict

Hi

I have an employee who has great work ethic, is knowledgeable, and actually great with clients. Where they are lacking is their people skills with their colleagues.  They struggle to understand that juniors lean at different paces, they also fail to communicate with professionalism if anyone is not meeting the standards they have set. The employee in question is aware that their professional and communication skills need to be worked on, and will often identify after the event that their behavior has been below expectations. Its a strange position as though staff could make a number of complaints they tend to accept that its part of the employees personality .

I am very conscious that this acceptance is almost allowing the behavior to continue, and where i am aware or witnessed it myself i am taking active steps to stop it in its tracks. 

What i am looking for is some sort of course that would help the employee with their people skills, and also enable them to understand learning and development from different angles.  When i look online its a minefield.  Does anyone have any good starting points on where to look firstly i would like an introductory course for them, and then see how that goes.  This will be a long process and as it reconditioning their behavior and responses.


Many thanks

424 views
  • Welcome to the communities

    I doubt its a course you are looking for (especially as they are aware of it) but working alongside a coach (either internal or external) or mentor to help them identify alternative strategies and learn in real time
  • This person knows how to behave - they can communicate with clients very effectively. I wonder if this is an attitude issue? Clients = important = professional behaviour. Colleagues = not so important = I don't need to make an effort to be polite. If this is the case then will training really help? Keith's suggestion of a coach/mentor is a better option as it sounds as if they need to learn just how important team relationships are.
  • Hi Melissa, welcome to the communities. Agree with Keith and Deborah, this would be best addressed through coaching/mentoring. Within your organisation can you think of anyone who demonstrates particularly well the kinds of behaviours you are looking for? The benefit being the culture and organisational values will be at the forefront of any conversations so it would be ideal if someone internally can be identified first.
  • When you say they're great with clients, I wonder whether that's because the relationship has clear parameters and each person has a defined role (and they spend less time together!)? I suppose I am wondering whether it's the ongoing working relationships, where boundaries are more blurred, that are presenting the challenge. I agree about the coach/mentor, but I recognise the patterns you're describing and I wonder about the possible impact of neurodiversity... We have a quite a number of neurodiverse employees who have struggled with this (especially with adjusting for people who learn at a slower pace than they do) and we've found we needed really clear guidance (including examples) to help define expectations and behaviour from all parties in the working relationship.