Sustainable Excellence Xtras #103 - Taking Your Time To Think Before Implementing A Solution

As a leader, how often do you just act without considering the consequences?

How do you react when you decide that the best solution to a problem is to change a person?

Think about how you would feel if a boss decided you were the problem and forced you to change the way you worked or your attitude, without even considering things from your point of view.

According to an article in the Harvard Business Review (Carucci - 9/27/2019), here are four ways to handle emotionally needy employees in the workforce:

1. Test The Person's Awareness - Most people don't realize how their emotional issues drain the people around them. A simple way to gauge if people are aware of how their emotions affect others is to have one-on-one meetings and ask them directly. Depending on how they react, make sure you can back up your thoughts with specific examples.

2. Be Direct About Your Emotional Boundaries - When you set clear boundaries for yourself and your team, you force the other person to consider if and when to seek emotional reinforcement and when to refrain from it.     

3. Treat Needy People As If They Are Strong, Not Fragile - If you have an employee who doesn't respond well to criticism by withdrawing or going silent, in a private meeting, reassure them you care about their feelings and want them to be an engaged part of the team, but be direct that their behavior is being perceived negatively by the other members.  

4. Don't Allow Gossip About A Needy Team Member - The more team members talk about the needy person instead of to them the more isolated they feel and the more needier they become. When one team member's imperfections become fair game to mock or gossip about, everyone's are. This erodes trust and safety among all the team members.

The goal of a leader is not to make snap decisions that cause people to change and disrupt the dynamics of the team. The goal should be to study the emotional needs of the team members and develop strategies tailored to each person's emotional needs. 

Doing this provides each member of the team with a safe and rewarding place to work because their leader meets their emotional, as well as physical, needs.

Leave me a comment about how you handle the emotional needs of your team and watch the video below to learn more about the importance of studying a problem before you come up with your solution.