Dear Seniors, Recently, I attended an interview in an MNC for a team leader's profile, and I was successful in answering most of the questions. However, one question turned into a lengthy discussion, which could have been a trap. I did my best to answer it effectively based on my experience. Nonetheless, I feel it may not have been satisfactory to them. I have now started applying for Team Leader positions and would appreciate expert advice from you seniors. Please advise on what an 'ideal answer' to such a situation could have been.
Handling Difficult Team Members
Question: 'Suppose you have 5 team members under you, and one of them doesn't like you. He is a challenging personality to deal with and has not been proactive in meeting targets. Despite achieving 70% of the targets, he refuses to work further, claiming satisfaction with his current performance. He is even okay with being fired but refuses to work. The senior management insists on retaining him due to the current situation where any attrition is undesirable.
Moreover, his negative influence on other team members may lead to their resignation if he leaves. He complains about insufficient leave and overdue appraisals. As the team leader, how would you handle this scenario?'
In my response, I mentioned strategies such as communication, seeking advice from seniors, counseling, evaluating his work history and revenue output, and offering solutions for target achievement. I also suggested organizing a team outing to alleviate tensions. However, it seemed that the manager was not impressed with my answer.
I would appreciate your guidance on how to handle such situations if they arise in the future or during interviews at an MNC.
Thank you in advance.
From India, Mumbai
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15Handling Difficult Team Members
Question: 'Suppose you have 5 team members under you, and one of them doesn't like you. He is a challenging personality to deal with and has not been proactive in meeting targets. Despite achieving 70% of the targets, he refuses to work further, claiming satisfaction with his current performance. He is even okay with being fired but refuses to work. The senior management insists on retaining him due to the current situation where any attrition is undesirable.
Moreover, his negative influence on other team members may lead to their resignation if he leaves. He complains about insufficient leave and overdue appraisals. As the team leader, how would you handle this scenario?'
In my response, I mentioned strategies such as communication, seeking advice from seniors, counseling, evaluating his work history and revenue output, and offering solutions for target achievement. I also suggested organizing a team outing to alleviate tensions. However, it seemed that the manager was not impressed with my answer.
I would appreciate your guidance on how to handle such situations if they arise in the future or during interviews at an MNC.
Thank you in advance.
From India, Mumbai
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Handling a Challenging Team Member
In any organization, people are hired to work, and they need to continue working to maintain their jobs. In a situation where a person is not willing to work, has influence over the team, and cannot be fired, here is what I would do:
a) Make him the SPOC (Single Point of Contact) for the team for various activities to make him feel more responsible.
b) Highlight his positive behavior within the team.
c) Find out what motivates him.
d) Develop more rapport with the other four members so that I have more influence over them.
e) Make him aware of his KRAs (Key Result Areas) and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and hold team meetings to help him understand where he is lacking. Do this tactfully by taking feedback from the team members.
Regards
From India, Delhi
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In any organization, people are hired to work, and they need to continue working to maintain their jobs. In a situation where a person is not willing to work, has influence over the team, and cannot be fired, here is what I would do:
a) Make him the SPOC (Single Point of Contact) for the team for various activities to make him feel more responsible.
b) Highlight his positive behavior within the team.
c) Find out what motivates him.
d) Develop more rapport with the other four members so that I have more influence over them.
e) Make him aware of his KRAs (Key Result Areas) and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and hold team meetings to help him understand where he is lacking. Do this tactfully by taking feedback from the team members.
Regards
From India, Delhi
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While options (a) and (b) are good suggestions, I did insist on (c) and (d) at the time of the interview. (c), according to the manager, was a salary hike and leaves. He did not really say anything about (d) when I suggested it. (e), according to him, was "you have already done that," but he simply is not interested in working on areas where he lacks as he is fully satisfied with his 70% target achievements.
Thank you anyway for your suggestions :)
From India, Mumbai
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Thank you anyway for your suggestions :)
From India, Mumbai
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I don't think this is a hypothetical situation; I have seen similar (though not exactly identical) situations earlier.
First of all, when you are in the interview room, remove from your mind that this is just an interview question. Visualize that you are neck-deep in a real situation. Otherwise, your whole thought process goes off on a tangent (this applies to just about any such interview questions).
Coming to the issue, give him a chance to totally express his anger. One distinct possibility could be that others have only been seeing the manifestations of his frustration. Either no one has given any thought to the reasons, or he wasn't given a chance to express them.
Usually, once anyone vents and drains out their frustrating thoughts, only then can any corrective measures really work (suggestions a to c, as Atul Sharma mentioned). Otherwise, in all probability, you are hitting your head against a wall. It's like a glass needs to be emptied before you can fill it again with whatever you want.
Incidentally, Atul Sharma's suggestion (d) will be counterproductive—don't ever try it when you haven't handled the guy who's the cause. You will be perceived more as a manipulator than a problem-solver if you use it too soon.
Next, sit with him and begin to be a part of his problem. Now, this could turn out to be tricky. I am sure no one is 100% happy in any organization; everyone usually has something or the other to complain about, including you in your present company (please note that these are issues that fall into a peculiar category: "nothing that you can really highlight as a problem and complain about, but at the same time nothing that you can just forget too"). The work gets done, but the hit is usually on the person's "happiness/job satisfaction." Don't run down the company here; only share your experiences of a similar nature.
The general human psychology is to share things/thoughts with those who have undergone the same or similar situations. The belief is that only they can understand me well, having gone through the same cycle (right or wrong is usually never an issue here).
Once you get the inputs on the reasons, which could be official or personal, then go to the next step.
Take him into confidence and follow up by giving him the responsibility that Atul Sharma mentioned in Point (a).
The reason you give for this step to him depends on this guy's psyche—some like getting an ego kick when their work contributes to others' success (in which case, you can say that 'my success depends on you'). While some really don't care what happens to you, they wish to prove a point to those who caused them harm or insult or any negative feeling. If this is this guy's psyche, then just tell him in plain and simple English (no verbosity): 'I want to prove all those guys wrong, and I want your support in this.' From then on, it's no more his problem alone, and he now knows he has support to give it a fair shot.
Take it from me—it works. For me, years ago, the second choice worked with an employee—a technically super guy—who just wouldn't listen to anyone except the MD—not even to the GM (who, frankly, was a dunce and only carried his designation weight around) to whom I used to report—but it was me who had to get work done through him.
Hope this helps you to handle another interview better.
Regards,
TS
From India, Hyderabad
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First of all, when you are in the interview room, remove from your mind that this is just an interview question. Visualize that you are neck-deep in a real situation. Otherwise, your whole thought process goes off on a tangent (this applies to just about any such interview questions).
Coming to the issue, give him a chance to totally express his anger. One distinct possibility could be that others have only been seeing the manifestations of his frustration. Either no one has given any thought to the reasons, or he wasn't given a chance to express them.
Usually, once anyone vents and drains out their frustrating thoughts, only then can any corrective measures really work (suggestions a to c, as Atul Sharma mentioned). Otherwise, in all probability, you are hitting your head against a wall. It's like a glass needs to be emptied before you can fill it again with whatever you want.
Incidentally, Atul Sharma's suggestion (d) will be counterproductive—don't ever try it when you haven't handled the guy who's the cause. You will be perceived more as a manipulator than a problem-solver if you use it too soon.
Next, sit with him and begin to be a part of his problem. Now, this could turn out to be tricky. I am sure no one is 100% happy in any organization; everyone usually has something or the other to complain about, including you in your present company (please note that these are issues that fall into a peculiar category: "nothing that you can really highlight as a problem and complain about, but at the same time nothing that you can just forget too"). The work gets done, but the hit is usually on the person's "happiness/job satisfaction." Don't run down the company here; only share your experiences of a similar nature.
The general human psychology is to share things/thoughts with those who have undergone the same or similar situations. The belief is that only they can understand me well, having gone through the same cycle (right or wrong is usually never an issue here).
Once you get the inputs on the reasons, which could be official or personal, then go to the next step.
Take him into confidence and follow up by giving him the responsibility that Atul Sharma mentioned in Point (a).
The reason you give for this step to him depends on this guy's psyche—some like getting an ego kick when their work contributes to others' success (in which case, you can say that 'my success depends on you'). While some really don't care what happens to you, they wish to prove a point to those who caused them harm or insult or any negative feeling. If this is this guy's psyche, then just tell him in plain and simple English (no verbosity): 'I want to prove all those guys wrong, and I want your support in this.' From then on, it's no more his problem alone, and he now knows he has support to give it a fair shot.
Take it from me—it works. For me, years ago, the second choice worked with an employee—a technically super guy—who just wouldn't listen to anyone except the MD—not even to the GM (who, frankly, was a dunce and only carried his designation weight around) to whom I used to report—but it was me who had to get work done through him.
Hope this helps you to handle another interview better.
Regards,
TS
From India, Hyderabad
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Thank you so much, Tajsateesh sir!
I understand that in this case, the behavioral perspective matters. It is not just the focus on the solution but the method of coming to the solution that is important. Maybe the best strategy for dealing with toxic behavior of employees is prevention!
From India, Mumbai
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I understand that in this case, the behavioral perspective matters. It is not just the focus on the solution but the method of coming to the solution that is important. Maybe the best strategy for dealing with toxic behavior of employees is prevention!
From India, Mumbai
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I said this situation was hypothetical because, in my experience, a person's job performance determines their progress in the organization. If someone is not meeting their KRAs, then in most cases, the supervisor has the option to issue warning letters and a CAP (Corrective Action Plan) to that employee.
If a person is a high performer but has some behavioral concerns, I can understand the logic of retaining the employee. However, if a person is not even meeting their targets, and assuming you have done your part to influence their behavior and motivate them, I think there is no point in retaining that employee. In my experience, I have never encountered a situation where I was told to retain a poor performer after taking measures to check their performance.
The options you have mentioned are part of communication and counseling, which Anonymous said have not worked.
Regards
From India, Delhi
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If a person is a high performer but has some behavioral concerns, I can understand the logic of retaining the employee. However, if a person is not even meeting their targets, and assuming you have done your part to influence their behavior and motivate them, I think there is no point in retaining that employee. In my experience, I have never encountered a situation where I was told to retain a poor performer after taking measures to check their performance.
The options you have mentioned are part of communication and counseling, which Anonymous said have not worked.
Regards
From India, Delhi
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Understanding Organizational Challenges
The answer is very critical and depends on the situation and varies from person to person. The question is half-baked, and only a part of it is known. There are no reasons given prior to the incident. There are many cases where this can happen in an organization. From my experience, what comes to mind is:
- People have been asked to leave to cut down expenses.
- There is no major career growth.
- Employees do not feel empowered.
- Proper reward and recognition are not in place.
- There are issues with the calculation of productive resources, meaning the scale of work is improper.
- A huge difference between finding self-worth with the help of organizational worth (Brand).
- Challenges between what was promised earlier (like promotion or pay rise) not honored.
- Team belonging is lacking as work is scattered and not appreciated.
Strategies for Organizational Leaders
If I were the organization leader, how would I cope with this challenge?
1. Let him be as he is (You cannot change someone in days).
2. Do not try to coach, mentor, or direct such employees. Such employees are prone to take things personally and leave immediately.
3. Make a roadmap where each team member shares equal responsibility.
4. Pair him with a buddy who would take care of him.
5. The buddy can help him to cope.
6. Have out-of-office get-togethers to understand the root cause (some family issues may be prevailing, such as an ailing mother or a broken relationship).
7. Appreciate only when he has done good work; false appreciation may spoil other team members as well.
8. Organize some kind of tournaments to understand the spirits.
9. Have internal "Go-getter" Championships, making each and everyone responsible for the task.
10. The most important thing is DO NOT, in any way, let others know or let him know that there is an issue in the team. Be self-motivated, crack jokes, and take it easy—focusing on the end goal.
Regards
From India, New Delhi
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The answer is very critical and depends on the situation and varies from person to person. The question is half-baked, and only a part of it is known. There are no reasons given prior to the incident. There are many cases where this can happen in an organization. From my experience, what comes to mind is:
- People have been asked to leave to cut down expenses.
- There is no major career growth.
- Employees do not feel empowered.
- Proper reward and recognition are not in place.
- There are issues with the calculation of productive resources, meaning the scale of work is improper.
- A huge difference between finding self-worth with the help of organizational worth (Brand).
- Challenges between what was promised earlier (like promotion or pay rise) not honored.
- Team belonging is lacking as work is scattered and not appreciated.
Strategies for Organizational Leaders
If I were the organization leader, how would I cope with this challenge?
1. Let him be as he is (You cannot change someone in days).
2. Do not try to coach, mentor, or direct such employees. Such employees are prone to take things personally and leave immediately.
3. Make a roadmap where each team member shares equal responsibility.
4. Pair him with a buddy who would take care of him.
5. The buddy can help him to cope.
6. Have out-of-office get-togethers to understand the root cause (some family issues may be prevailing, such as an ailing mother or a broken relationship).
7. Appreciate only when he has done good work; false appreciation may spoil other team members as well.
8. Organize some kind of tournaments to understand the spirits.
9. Have internal "Go-getter" Championships, making each and everyone responsible for the task.
10. The most important thing is DO NOT, in any way, let others know or let him know that there is an issue in the team. Be self-motivated, crack jokes, and take it easy—focusing on the end goal.
Regards
From India, New Delhi
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How come he has more influence on team members than you? If you fire him, why will other team members resign? We study individual behaviors to find what behavior will make him/her work towards organizational objectives. We try to create conditions so that individuals will produce the required behavior. The individual has tremendous influence on team members.
From Korea, Samsung
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From Korea, Samsung
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While answering this question, you should remember that task structure, goal clarity, composition of the team, group functioning, and performance norms are key design components of a job. You have to examine and diagnose where the problem lies. Had you given this answer, they would have accepted it. But then you should be in a position to elaborate on each of the above five elements. Any OB or OD student should be able to do this.
Regards.
From Korea, Samsung
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Regards.
From Korea, Samsung
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