Von Hoffman, C. (1999). Harvard Management Update.


What do you do when one of your most valuable employees--one you really need on your team--is a pain and a troublemaker who aggravates everybody? First, make sure the employee is in the right job and has the right training--for example, an analyst who is now running her department needs managerial training. Second, determine whether the job itself requires the person to be difficult. Third, assess the group dynamic and make sure there are other personalities in the group to neutralize the difficult person. If the problem goes beyond the scope of organizational fixes, you may want to turn to emotional intelligence (EI), the capacity for recognizing and managing your own emotions as well as the emotions of others. Another tool is 360° feedback, in which employees' performance is assessed by their coworkers. The article includes a sidebar on using emotional intelligence.