I can't want this for you...

[miss fortune]

current problem I was discussing with a coworker earlier and with the man's coworker staying with us at the moment just this evening... when your minions are slackers no matter what you do

I have one minion who's been on my team for quite a while... he's a good guy, but he just doesn't seem to take anything seriously and his mood is a total rollercoaster and EVERYTHING is dependent upon how you present yourself... he can go negative in a heartbeat and it influences everyone else as well as his performance... I've talked to him about it before and am getting kind of tired of getting called into the owners office and getting asked to reign in my minion... occasionally he'll get it into his head and actually do everything right for a couple of weeks and then he'll go back to his old ways... I'm considering cutting him loose for it just because it influences everyone else- I don't really WANT to do so because he's worked for me for quite a while and has done some really good work, but I really can't afford to have a loose cannon around

there's a couple of other people in the office with similar behavior patterns and only one of the other people who are in charge seems to care about it at all... it's really quite annoying because I'd like to see these people succeed and have put quite a bit of work into them because they show some real potential, but I can't want them to succeed more than they do... I can't do their work for them... and punching people is generally frowned upon in the workplace- other than explaining to them nicely WHY they shouldn't behave in certain ways or just ignoring them and picking up with their people where they should be doing something what else is there to do that could possibly save them?

I've tried everything short of firing the one guy... any other ideas?

 

[Fleeting]

If you've already approached them directly with the problems, and have tried to work out solutions, and they haven't improved, then the only thing to do is to eliminate the problems.

If you haven't approached them with your concerns, however, do so, and ask if there is anything that would make things easier for them to remain on task.

Try thinking outside the box. When it comes to keeping me on task, which is fairly difficult to do, I respond better to suggestion than to direct order.

In what type of environ do you work?

 

[AgentF]

once you have concluded that someone is not right for the position, you should fire them and not look back. every day a loose cannon is in your organization is a day that your team deals with the negative consequences and a high performing job seeker is out of a job.

judicious firing is one of the hardest management skills to acquire but one of the most important.

so, professionally...with compassion...and all the requisite legal/HR paperwork squared away: can his ass.

 

[AgentF]

once you have concluded that someone is not right for the position, you should fire them and not look back. every day a loose cannon is in your organization is a day that your team deals with the negative consequences and a high performing job seeker is out of a job.

judicious firing is one of the hardest management skills to acquire but one of the most important.

so, professionally...with compassion...and all the requisite legal/HR paperwork squared away: can his ass.

 

[EvidenceOfRedemption]

they see their job, possibly, as transitional while you see yours as the current pinnacle.

 

[FDG]

Probably they're not particularly invested in the job at hand.