Any ideas on how to coach team members and ultimately document (if needed) their performance issues when the problem is they have a bad attitude? So far I’ve been taking the approach of treating this as a “teamwork” issue. I need some thoughts on how to effectively tie their outlook, their rolling of the eyes, their incessant complaining, or whatever it is at the time to the job and job performance.
The Team Doc Says…
You can’t control an attitude, but you can effect a change in behavior.
I’m not real big on making this a “team thing.” I’ve seen that way too often. And what usually happens is the team member who’s SUPPOSED to get the message that it’s their problem, never gets it. Focusing it from a team perspective has a bad habit of turning the tables on you. In other words, it can turn team members with “good attitudes” into whiners too.
I suggest the team leader deal with it just like any other behavioral issue. By providing one-on-one feedback to the team member about what they are seeing and how they want it corrected. And if necessary, placing the team member on an action plan to monitor progress.
The best gift you can give your team leaders is to teach them how to give appropriate feedback. Most people don’t have a clue how to do that so it typically yields poor results. If you need some help, you can take a look at these articles:
- The Do’s and Don’ts of Giving Feedback
- Feedback: A Priceless Communication Tool
Feel free to print them out and share. A well trained team leader is normally a good one.
Best regards,
Denise O’Berry
aka ‘Team Doc’
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