Difficult People are Healthy for an Organization

‘Difficult’ people keep us on our toes and challenge us in a healthy way.

Yesterday I wrote about dealing with difficult people with empathy. Trying to understand what is driving a person who may be hard to work with can make dealing with them easier. Many people might say - just get rid of them! In Good to Great, Jim Collins wrote that the first thing to do in transforming an organization from Good to Great is to “get the right people on the bus” and, by extension, get the wrong ones off the bus.

Certainly every organization has a certain group of employees that it would be better off without. Those that drag others down around them, or collect a salary without adding anything of value to the company. It should be said though that not all people who choose not to toe the ‘company line’ are necessarily bad to have around. In fact, I would argue that many of them are very healthy influences; however, it takes a strong leader to realize this and take advantage of it.

What sort of people are good to have around?

People who are constantly challenging our thoughts, suggesting change and positive new routes to take are good to have around. They inspire innovation. They shake us out of our daily routine, they push us to reinvent the way we do things and what we stand for. This might be the person who always thinks that there must be a better way. This could be the person pushing the company to ‘go green’ or to focus more on employee happiness. They even include the person who pushes the boundary of what is permitted in the company, always asking “why?” There are any number of good things they do. Their agenda can keep an otherwise slow moving organization pushing forward just like a strong competitive influence from outside.

You have to be a strong leader to take advantage of difficult people

In many ways challenging employees are competitive influences from inside the organization. This is where it takes a strong person, a strong leader, to recognize their value and work with them. After all, so many people have the natural reaction to try and stifle or defeat their competitors. The leader who lacks confidence can see these people as internal challenges to their authority. They become defensive and fail to take advantage of this challenging ‘asset.’ Many leaders have strong egos and cannot step aside to allow others to be heard or to allow contrary opinions to be fairly evaluated. We’ve al met them, they are the people who believe that “if it’s not my idea, it’s a bad idea.”

The leader who lacks confidence can see these people as internal challenges to their authority…and fail to take advantage of this challenging ‘asset.’

I do not mean to suggest that every idea from every challenging employee must be accepted and acted upon. I do not mean that everyone must be allowed to run roughshod over company policy. Leaders must set down the direction and goals of the company, not the people who have the ‘idea of the day.’ It is true, though, that the challenging person can help us as leaders question and justify what our choices are. Like the child who always asks “why” when told to do something, employees are just as surely wondering to themselves why the company is doing what it does at every turn. And you had better have a good answer for them. The difficult employee is probably one of a much larger group - but he or she is the one who has the courage to speak their mind and challenge authority.

As a leader these people can be your barometer for what is happening in and out of your firm and can help you respond accordingly. Sometimes they will have great ideas that you should honor. Other times they will be wrong. Fine. Make sure everyone knows why you do what you do. It will lead to a happier, more productive workplace.

When does the difficult employee have to ‘get off the bus’?

These difficult people who are otherwise hard-working, strong contributors to your organization can be valuable if you can work with them. There are times though that their disturbances become unacceptable. The way that they challenge of course is important. Every leader will have a different level of tolerance for challenge. Some can handle the occasional outburst in public, while others will expect military-like respect even as they leave their door open to private discussions and ‘challenges.’ Whatever your personal level of comfort, if you are dealing with a difficult person on your team you owe it to them to be honest and up front about what you will accept and what you won’t. Expect some slip-ups, but guide this person to the proper way to work effectively on your team.

That said, some folks really do have to get off the bus no matter how much they accomplish on a daily basis. For me, that means the person who takes their gripes outside the team or company. Those that question your leadership or the direction of the company outside the office. That might be on the phone with a client, commiserating or otherwise slagging the company with an important customer. It also might be in a public forum where they will share their gripes, but don’t have the courage to say the same things to your face. These folks bring down a team faster than you will believe. They erode the trust of your customers. They destroy the spirit of the other employees as bad feelings begin to magnify over lunchroom chatter.

Deal with the difficult ones and move you company forward

Before you start throwing every challenging person off the bus, stop and think. Chances are they have some valid opinions and will help you and your company.

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