The ABC Of Dealing With Bad Behaviour

Managers should not have to put up with behaviour in the workplace that is disruptive, creates friction, damages the culture and, ultimately, costs the business money by driving good people away.

We often put up with bad behaviour because it seems like too much trouble to fix it. This can range from people just being less than polite, to outright unpleasantness and bullying.

Like most behavioural issues, it helps to set a standard first. If your organisation has developed core competencies or values, these should be in a form that communicates what behaviour is deemed a requirement and what is not accepted.

If you promote teamwork in your business, an appropriate team behaviour may be "supports other team members with assistance when required" or "obtains the views of all team members and looks for consensus or acceptance".

To make sure these don't just become platitudes, they should be documented and visible and form part of the performance management process.

When someone crosses the line, it should be brought to their notice immediately. Whilst it may be tempting to ignore it and hope it won't be repeated, we know that this often results in a bigger problem to deal with later.

Ken Blanchard, the academic and management guru, has a very handy model in "The Ultimate One Minute Manager" called the ABCs of Management.

• A is for activator, and relates to what a manager does in advance - such as setting standards
  
  
• B is for the behaviour the employee displays - either positive or negative
  
  
• C is for the consequences
  
  

It is the consequences that determine if the behaviour is going to be repeated or modified. If the behaviour is something you want to encourage, you should be recognising it and giving some positive feedback. If it is something that is unacceptable, it should be dealt with immediately with an appropriate response.

While every situation is different, here is a general outline of how this can be done:

1. Communicate your understanding of what has happened - "I noticed that you did not provide the information to Sam in time for the report"
   
   
2. Ask for their view of what happened in case there is a misunderstanding
   
   
3. Unless there is a good reason, remind them of the standard ie "supporting other team members..." and ask for this standard to be maintained in the future
   
   
4. Treat the issue as a problem, rather than a personal criticism - "We have a problem. Sam needs the information to write his report each month. How can we make sure this happens?"
   
   

Deal with results quickly, positive feedback, if it works, further help or reprimanding if it doesn't. Don't let it continue without taking some action. If it requires moving into formal corrective actions with written warnings, then so be it.

At stake here is you keeping your good people by providing an attractive, positive and productive workplace.

Paul Phillips, Horizon Management Group; Dingley, Victoria; Ph: (03) 9551 1829; Email: admin@horizonmg.com. For more details about how Horizon Management Group can help you visit the web site: www.horizonmg.com
First published: 1 May 2008.
Last updated: 1 May 2008.