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Stellar employee abused by peer
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Stellar employee abused by peer
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I have a young woman working in my department. She overachieves, takes on added responsibilities without complaint, and is in everyway a perfect example of an overachieving, superstar, or stellar empl
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Stellar employee abused by peer
posted at 7/16/2011 7:04 AM EDT
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Posts: 36
First: 6/1/2006 Last: 8/22/2011 |
I have a young woman working in my department. She overachieves, takes on added responsibilities without complaint, and is in everyway a perfect example of an overachieving, superstar, or stellar employee, whatever we want to call it. For reference I will give her the fictitious name: "Ann."
On Friday of last week Ann was taking part in typical office banter, this and the rest was witnessed by other employees. I believe they were talking about "Batman" or something silly like that. Ann's male peer wrote something on a piece of paper after she spoke, showed it to another female employee, and then crumpled it up before throwing it in the trash. Ann was scheduled to work today, Saturday. She called me at my home very upset. She realized that the paper was still in the trash can and she took it out and read it, as I would have. It said, "Please make her shut the **** up." The asterisks denote the F-bomb. The male employee's handwriting is distinct. I have had other attitude problems with Ann's male peer before, things such as accusing her of actions that she had nothing to do with and sometimes couldn't have possibly had to do with, always nonsensical complaints. She outperforms him at everything. She can do all of his duties more quickly and efficiently than he can. To speculate on issues of jealousy or other motive would murk up the issue though. Provided that all facts check out as I expect them to, my question to you, my friends is this: Is this note tossed into the trash an issue? Is what he did an infraction? I'd like to stay out of this but allowing mediocre employees to drive away stellar ones because of personal dislikes or jealousy is counterproductive to good business. Thanks all. |
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Stellar employee abused by peer
posted at 7/17/2011 9:48 AM EDT
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Posts: 562
First: 11/12/2009 Last: 9/14/2011 |
Not knowing your company's policies, it's hard to say if this is any kind of infraction. I tend to doubt that it is, and it doesn't appear to be any kind of harassment involved (unless there's more to the story that you haven't related).
That doesn't mean you can't step in. You can sit your mediocre employee down and advise him that his behavior is disruptive to your team and that it won't be tolerated. Follow up with a written warning if there's further instances of this behavior. I'd also sit your stellar employee down and reassure her that she's doing a great job. While I might not tell her that I've already talked to the other employee, I would tell her that she should focus on her own performance and not the behavior of others (eg, a "consider the source" type of discussion). |
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Stellar employee abused by peer
posted at 7/18/2011 5:43 AM EDT
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Posts: 2442
First: 2/12/2000 Last: 9/14/2011 |
A couple of quick points:
1. Why not just put the poor performer on a performance plan and manage him out the doo? 2. You can certainly discipline him for his written note. While I know this is not a criminal investigation, the poor employee should have no expectation of right to privacy when he writes it down shows another employee and puts it in the trash. You as the supervisor can say that you retrieved it (to "protect" Ann) and write him up if you are so inclined. |
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Stellar employee abused by peer
posted at 7/18/2011 8:17 AM EDT
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
Since you stated "I have had other attitude problems with Ann's male peer before, things such as accusing her of actions that she had nothing to do with and sometimes couldnât have possibly had to do with, always nonsensical complaints. ", I would go with a final written warning. He sounds like he is disrupting the team with his pettiness by making nonsensical complaints.
He has no (or very limited) right to privacy in the workplace and in this case, no right to privacy. If he had verbalized it under his breathe or said it outloud, how would you react? By putting it into writing, you have more direct evidence and it is NOT a "he said/she said". I would consider the possibility that this could move into a harassment charge at some point. |
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Stellar employee abused by peer
posted at 7/18/2011 8:40 AM EDT
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Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
I absolutely agree with others, but there is also a "teachable moment" for Ann that you don't want to miss. It could be that her over-achieving is demoralizing her team members (this happens all the time and typically results in the kind of hostility and resentment you are seeing). You can help her to be more team-oriented in her approach to her work, part of that is recognizing what others contribute. |
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Stellar employee abused by peer
posted at 7/18/2011 11:44 AM EDT
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Posts: 1103
First: 3/16/2007 Last: 8/19/2011 |
Deltac,
I am certain it was not your intent but one must be very careful when coaching over achievers about how others perceive them. The fact that an over achiever by definition outshines lesser employees is something you neither want to discourage nor drive away. Part of the coaching should be raising the performance of the under achiever/mediocre achiever/ just enough to get by achiever. In this instance I am troubled by the OP not wanting to engage the issue. The OP has a responsibility not only to address Ann's concern but also to break up the circle of negativity that seems to be developing around the male employee. Howard has a wonderful suggestion on how to approach this entire mess (although I suspect Howard7 meant door and not doo) |
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Stellar employee abused by peer
posted at 7/19/2011 4:53 AM EDT
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Posts: 544
First: 9/27/2004 Last: 9/13/2011 |
no, of course you don't want to lead them to stop the steller performance. But if talent is to be optimized, it should be steered in the right direction. This employee obviously outshines her co-workers in many arenas, she could of at least let the guy have his Batman moment. I don't excuse the guy's behavior, but it is indicative of how she may be coming across to the team.
The best way to develop a high performer is to have them help develop those skills in others. To do that they need to learn to value the contributions of others, sometimes at the expense of their own ego. |
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Stellar employee abused by peer
posted at 7/19/2011 5:37 AM EDT
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Posts: 2442
First: 2/12/2000 Last: 9/14/2011 |
"The best way to develop a high performer is to have them help develop those skills in others"
Not sure I agree with this statement. Developing the skills in others is more of a developing talent responibility of the manager over the talent. Personally the last thing I would want to do is to lose the productivity of my high performing individual contributor by having them responsible for upgrading others skills. Many of these folks have not developed those mentoring skills particularly early in their career. Should they be aware of their impact on others, absolutely. Don't I want to recognize high performance and have others strive towards it? Absolutely. Set a high standard and manage people to that standard. Lowest common denominator is a losing strategy IMHO. |
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