A bossy employee can be a manager’s worst nightmare if he doesn’t know how to handle one properly. Find out how to get this kind of worker back in line in this article.

The ideal team for any leader is a team that follows your example, a team that suggests ideas and collaborates. Each worker is satisfied with his job and contributes something so that the team becomes greater than the sum of it’s parts. But just one bossy worker can disrupt all of this. So how can we deal with such a person?

When An Employee Becomes Too Bossy

There’s nothing wrong with a worker who takes responsibility. In fact, these types of workers can be like gold dust because, in this day and age, there are far too many people who just want to sit back, do the bare minimum and collect their paycheck.

A good worker like this might help others who are not yet up to speed and this type of coaching will involve them asking others to do things for them.

But when a worker is constantly asking others to do tasks but at the same time not pulling their weight, doing less work or doing easier work, then you have a bossy employee who needs to be put back in their place.

Easy Goes It

The best way to deal with a bossy employee is to convince him to come “on side”. Use his skills of coaching and delegation but make it clear that you expect him to deliver too.

One way of doing this is to set a large task or a project. Buddy him up with someone else but make it clear that you expect both of them to deliver.

You can also get respect and a motivated worker if you give them some special rewards for going this extra mile. This could mean some training that would enhance the worker’s resume and also be good for the firm. Or you could adopt the carrot and stick approach and mention that you will speak to other managers if he does a good job which could open up future career opportunities.

The Hard Way

Sometimes, a worker just does not respond to the carrots that you are offering. This is not a mistake or out of ignorance, in these cases the worker knows full well what they are doing.

There is always a reason why a worker may get lazy and workshy and try to do only the easy things and boss others around. It normally revolves around job satisfaction. If a normal person is satisfied in their job then they simply won’t be disruptive like this. If your organisation and/or you have been lazy in addressing career progression and training and job satisfaction then you only have yourself to blame.

I would advise to get your ship in order and mention this to the worker. If you can convince him that things will genuinely change and there could be rewards for him in the future then he will change his behaviour and you will see a new side to him.

The Harder Way

If you feel that your worker has no reason to act in this way and there is no other root cause other than his laziness then arrange a private one to one and give him an informal warning. Don’t use the word “warning” but just “have a chat”. Explain to him that his standards are unacceptable and he must change.

If he does not change his behaviour then you should start thinking about effective ways of “managing him out” and replacing him with someone more motivated and hungry for career success.