Week 3 assignment: Delivering bad news

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Communicating with employees who are displaying a confrontational behavior at work require supervisors to be assertive in addressing their inappropriate behavior to make them productive members of the organization’s team. Managers need to be proactive in anticipating the employee’s response, and Cahn and Abigail (2007) suggest they use a six-step confrontation process to come to a mutual agreement to resolve the issue.

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The first step to helping confrontational employees is to research their problems and ask the “who, what, where, when, and how” questions (Cahn and Abigail, p. 84). Finding the answers to these five basic questions will set the foundation for understanding the root cause of the employee’s poor behavior. After determining the root causes of the employee’s issues, the supervisor will need to schedule a time to have a private meeting with the individual about their behavior. Cahn and Abigail (2007) refer to this stage as the “initiation stage” because both parties need to agree on a specific date and time to meet and discuss the issue.

When the meeting occurs, the supervisor will begin the meeting, and consider their non-verbal communication techniques like sitting up tall, looking at the person, but not staring, and speaking firmly and assertively to the employee about the issue at hand. Cahn and Abigail (2007) suggest they use their knowledge of the issue to anticipate how the employee will response. They should also verbalize what their personal views and concerns are to allow the employee to have a baseline for how to respond. Using “I-statements” are also beneficial to ensuring communication is clear, concise, and assertive enough to impact the employee’s demeanor so they are honest and forthcoming about their negative behavior.

The fourth stage of the Cahn and Abigail’s (2007) states that supervisors should have empathy for their subordinates, and take into account their beliefs and feelings regarding their work environment and personal behavior issues. The old adage, “Put yourself in their shoes,” applies to these confrontational situations because it reminds the supervisor to their about the situation from their employee’s perspective. It helps them formulate proposed recommendations for resolving the conflict at work too. The final stage is the most critical, according to Cahn and Abigail (2007) because both parties need to come together to agree on a mutually beneficial agreement that meets both the supervisor and employee’s goals for the meeting. The supervisor will need to ensure the agreement is accomplished in writing, which can be filed in the employee’s personnel record for use later if they are being considered for dismissal because of multiple infractions. Formal agreements can also be finalized using a mediator who can help both parties communicate their goals and concerns as well as the final written agreement to resolve the issue.

Lastly, the final step includes scheduling a timeline for both parties to come back to the table to see if the recommended solution worked and was implemented properly (Cahn and Abigail, 2007). Reviewing the employee’s performance and adherence to the written agreement will let the supervisor know if their resolution was beneficial for the company and the employee. The follow-up meeting can also be a forum for the supervisor and employee to request amendments to the agreement, which will help them sharpen the focus of their long-term goals.

In conclusion, communicating with employees who are displaying a confrontational behavior at work require supervisors to be assertive in addressing their inappropriate behavior to make them productive members of the organization’s team. Managers need to be proactive in anticipating the employee’s response, and use a six-step confrontation process to come to a mutual agreement to resolve the issue.

References
Cahn, D.D., & Abigail, R.A. (2007). Managing conflict through communication (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN: 978-0-205-68556-1