How to Handle Insubordination

We were talking with a small business owner that was struggling with an insubordinate employee.  The insubordination wasn’t due to a refusal to do assigned work or to be present at work.  In fact, the work that this employee did produce was of the highest quality.  The insubordination was in publicly showing frustration with their manager.  To complicate the situation the employee was the assistant to the General Manager (GM).   

Though the Assistant Manager produced high quality work they often had differing opinions from the GM on the way to complete work.  On several occasions the Assistant had publicly expressed frustration or even making comments like “Finally!” when the GM had decided on a course of action

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The GM was concerned that this public division could cause a considerable amount of discord in his work force.  We agreed and helped craft a performance management strategy to identify the root cause and best path forward.  We then worked with the GM to role play different versions of their conversations and debriefed with them afterward.   

You’re probably wondering how it went? 

After the Assistant publicly expressed frustration with a decision the GM asked the Assistant to step into their office.  The GM calmly explained that the specific behavior exhibited was not acceptable for the Assistant and expressed the importance of appearing unified.  The Assistant countered by asking wasn’t it his job to provide alternate solutions to problems and that he had always welcomed them when he was in an individual contributor role. The GM then explained that the primary responsibility of the Assistant was to carry out the vision and direction of the GM and that any objections were welcome but should be given in private.  The GM further went on to explain that he expected the Assistant to adhere to the guidelines laid out and if he felt he could not, he would be allowed to return to his previous position and the GM would not enter it into his employee file as a negative mark, but simply a transfer.  The Assistant stated that they wanted to remain in their current position.  Prior to leaving the Assistant apologized and admitted they were wrong.  They expressed to the GM that they hoped that their actions had not jeopardized their friendship and he hoped he would be able to overlook this incident and remain friends.  The GM responded that this is what they wanted also. 

Why did this talk track from the GM work so well?  

• The GM spoke to the associate immediately following the behavior 
• The identified the behavior as the problem and not the employee 
• The employee had an opportunity to explain the behavior  
• Clear expectations for immediate change were laid out 
• An opportunity was given to the employee to take a different role they had excelled at rather risk their career. 

Ensure that anytime you must address a behavior that is outside your expectations, that you follow these steps.  They are a clear path to both understanding why the behavior occurred and charting a course forward.  They also avoid attacking the employee and instead focusing on the behavior or result which avoids making the employee feel demoralized. 

Have you ever had to work with an insubordinate employee?  Have you been that employee?  let us know in the comments!