Your human. Confrontation isn't nice. Telling someone you don't like their behaviour is hard to do.
Anyone manager who tells you they have no problems confronting employees is either: A. Lying...or B. A Psychopath who enjoys hurting others.
But it's one of those necessary jobs to drive a business and effectively manage others. So why is it so hard for most of us managers to do? Why do we put it off, and what can we do to make this job more manageable in our minds? GOOD EMPLOYEES WANT IT.
So firstly, to change your perspective on confrontation, cast your mind back to when you were an employee. What type of manager did you respect and admire more? Managers that stuck their head in the sand, never pushed you or gave you honest feedback or those that pulled you up when you needed it?
Given you are in management or a business owner now, chances are you had a heap of managers along the way who overcame the "not-nice" feeling of confrontation and gave you a kick or two as needed to help you reach your potential.
That's the thing, the excellent employees you want to keep in the business will appreciate and grow out of you confronting them, even if they don't see it at the time. The employees you don't want in your business are the ones who will take it poorly, and, to be honest, you don't want them around anyway. Remember, great employees, love feedback as they want to grow and learn.
Give it to them, both good and bad.
Face It.
We've all had these thoughts: "I should talk to Steve about his poor performance, but it's Friday afternoon, and I don't want to ruin his weekend, and it's already been a big week for me". Make confronting employees on issues normal. Make it a habit. Whenever you realise confronting an employee needs to happen, don't put it off for a sunny day. Stop, reflect on how best to deliver to make it an empowering and positive conversation for the employee and then act. If you sit on a challenging conversation, your issue will brew inside you like a volcano until you snap and deliver poorly. Confronting employees is like a band-aide, don't pull it off painfully hair by hair. If it needs to be said, do it immediately without fail.
Prepare.
Fear of confronting staff is often the result of how to handle any comebacks. However, some organisational tricks can help overcome this so you can confidently address issues. Firstly, keep detailed notes of meetings, conversations and tasks assigned to employees. Email confirmation immediately following any chat with the employee is an excellent way to do this. Then, when it comes time to chat, review all your records and calmly work out a plan of attack to ensure the facts are clear and cannot be pushed back on.
The biggest key is not feeling bad about confronting employees regarding issues. It's a good thing, trust me.
Food for thought...
Cheers,
Simon Ingleson
CEO/Founder @ RosterElf
Magically Simple Rostering Software
