As a manager, how do you handle confrontational staff?

[Etini]

There are different kinds of temperaments owned by different people. Some are calm, some are quiet, some are confrontational and some are diplomatic. Confrontational people are people that would always tell you that you have done wrong regardless of if you are their superior or not. They are blunt people that don't have the time to sugar-coat anything. They tell you the way it is.

Confrontational people are not bad people. They are people who don't just have the luxury to be nice. They are not diplomatic. If you are not really understanding, you might take their bluntness for insolence.
As a superior in an organization, how would you deal with people that are blunt about their feelings? The kneejerk reaction would be to despise them but that would not be a good man management approach. You just let them be. Examine if there are points in their concerns. Take the message and forget about the delivery.

 

[Jasz]

Managers need to be able to handle confrontational staff. But how? Here are some tips:

1. Be positive and supportive in your approach. When you encounter a problem employee, try to be as positive as possible and avoid attacking the person. Instead, focus on ways the employee can improve their performance. If you're in an office environment, take advantage of any opportunity to praise employees on a regular basis.

2. Be firm but fair. In most situations, this means being firm with your employees when they do something wrong or when they don't perform well enough for you as a manager. But make sure that your firmness doesn't come across as being too harsh or overbearing — otherwise it could backfire or even lead to resentment from the employee who received discipline.

3. Remember that there's no magic wand that will instantly make an employee into a top performer or deal with all of their problems right away — especially if they're having personality issues or other issues related to their character (for example, alcoholism). So rather than trying to fix everything at once, focus on one thing at a time and give them lots of support through that process so they feel heard and acknowledged by their manager.

 

[Holicent]

If you ask me how to handle a confrontational staff as a manager. I think that many managers, especially new ones, believe that confronting an employee is the same as punishing them. This is not true. When you confront an employee, you are letting them know what they did wrong and why it was wrong. In many cases, this will lead to an apology and/or change in behavior on the part of the employee.

You can also use confrontational tactics to help your employees improve their performance. For example, if someone isn't doing their job well, try confronting them about it. Ask for examples of when they've done something great and give them examples of times when they haven't done their job well. The employee might be embarrassed about not being able to perform certain tasks, but if you can help them realize that there is room for improvement then it will help improve their performance overall.