Negative Attitude
What is the best way to deal with an IT manager who is negative towards all employees and other management?
Dana,
definitely a tough situation. I would wonder if this person should really be in a position of management? Technical expertise is not enough, in my opinion, but also has to be assisted by good interpersonal skills.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Hi Dana!
I think everyone has encountered at least one person who always has a negative attitude about everything!
I believe it would be a good idea to approach the next person in the chain of command and point out the problem. Perhaps by having a meeting with this person about the negative attitude he/she has, perhaps they can stop the negative verbage.
Most organizations offer counseling for employees in different areas to change a behavior. I believe this would be the appropriate action and would benefit the organization.
A negative attitude sends a toxic wave that encompasses everyone!
K.C.,
this is good advice & try to point out the impact of these behaviors on other employees & the climate. They may not truly realize the full impact of their attitude.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Hi,
Negativity in the workplace can become a cancer that grows and overtakes the positive efforts by the majority of staff. It appears to be human nature to be more interested in the “drama†stories which are typically surrounded with negativity rather than the positive events that are taking place in an organization.
Unfortunately, however, sometimes administration plays a part in the negativity by creating an environment where an “us versus them†attitude produces conflict and challenges.
Responding to negative people, in my opinion, require clear understanding of the motive behind the negativity, the personality producing the negativity, and a plan to overcome the negativity.
If the negativity is based on performance, a plan can be developed to solve the problems of the performance issues. If however, the negativity is based solely on attitude, a determination must be made to determine whether or not it is in the best interest of the organization to pursue encouraging the employee to change their attitude or perhaps to end the working relationship.
Kevin,
I completely agree that the negativity is dangerous; the more negative we are as the leader the more everyone else will be negative too.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I agree it really makes and impact on staff if the manager is negative and not positive. The staff is only mentoring what the manager is doing and saying.
cindy,
yes, as someone once said, "attitude reflects leadership." That should give us as leaders pause.
Dr. Ryan Meers
If this manager is negative towards everyone, possibly he or she should have a sincere coaching session. Negativity is like a cancer, if a manager allows it to continue, the negativity will spread. Furthermore, negativity creates an environment of social alienation.
Conceivably this manager may not be in the correct position, or there may be underling conditions which may be initiating his/her negativity. Regardless of the senior, the situation should be dealt with.
The coaching strategy I would utilize would be to inform this IT manager exactly how his/her negativity towards the team is affecting team moral and productivity. One must be sincere, caring, and truly empathetic. In addition, I would recommend that the coach suggest to the IT manager, that his/her negativity may be a direct consequence of the IT manager not being content in his/her current position, or he/she may not like the company. Whichever the consequence is, I would suggest that the IT manager be asked to take some time to evaluate the input and determine if he/she does indeed want to work as a member of the team. If he/she does decide to continue working with the team then he/she should conduct themselves in a positive team orientated manner.
Roy
Allowing employees with bad attitudes to continue their behavior without consequence has multiple effects. Co-workers who experience the employee's bad attitude firsthand may suffer low morale or a negative attitude. Customers often become offended or disgruntled when exposed to an employee with a bad attitude. Lowered productivity among employees may also occur, which affects your bottom line. As the owner of a small business, take a proactive approach and find out how to stop the employee from wreaking havoc on your organization, employees and customers.
Jessica,
this is an excellent point & you have to eliminate or contain the toxicity as much as possible.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Everyone goes through IT at some point. This sounds like a problem that needs immediate attention. In my experience there are many tricks to satisfy the egos of people in specialty jobs. I can't see a way that you can have this individual continue to treat everyone this way and still have an effective IT situation. The chief complaint I get from IT people is that everyone is "an idiot" and that the job of IT is not to fix "every little computer problem". A quick soothing of the ego and explanation of the average level of technological literacy could help to smooth things a bit. When the IT person is reassured of the critical importance of their job, and how much of a gap there is in their knowledge versus the rest of the staff, thing usually get easier.
