Toxic Team Member Disrupting Our Team

I’m part of a small team of 6 people that I’ve been a part of since it’s inception. One person on the team always has a negative attitude about the way our manager runs things and I’m afraid he’s causing a rift in our team. Occasionally he makes suggestions of how it could be better, but never acts on those suggestions. There are several underlying factors — he’s working on his MBA and feels like he should be in line for a management position, but the manager and I don’t feel like he’s proven he’s capable of doing well at it. Also, he really admired our previous manager and has never fully accepted our current manager. I get the feeling that he talks negatively to another team member and some other people outside our group about our manager. He also recently tried to use a job offer for much more money to get a raise, which failed. I feel like we facilitate a very open environment, encouraging new ideas and communication. What can we do to get him on board and take action?

The Team Doc Says…

It’s time to talk about team member accountability. That’s what you need to do with this team member. Set some specific objectives and hold him accountable for the results. It doesn’t sound like that’s what’s been happening. And that’s just for starters.

Your team could also benefit from having an open discussion forum that is faciliated by someone outside of your team so team issues can be put on the table, action items identified and action taken. Everyone on the team has a responsibility here — not just one team member. Discussions between team members about another team member is a sign of sickness in your team and needs to be remedied immediately.

Also, since this team member used another job offer as leverage for change I suspect he’s unhappy too and may be on the way out the door. That could be the best option for both the team member and your team.