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1. First, I would sit down with the subordinate and find out what
their objections are to your request. Do they have a better idea?
2. If there's no valid reason for their refusal, I would tell them
their objection is noted, but the request still stands. Follow up with an
email confirming the request and their refusal.
3. Make a note in their personnel file, and inform them of such.
Remember when it's time for a performance review and nix any idea of an
increase. Maybe they'll get upset and quit.
Just a few things off the top of my head.
Suzette Leeming
Stouffville, Ontario
On 9/12/07, Agnes Starr <zigrocstarr -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote:
>
> Further to the post about stepping up to a leadership position, I have a
> question.
>
> In my last jobs and in my last life in another field, I was in a
> leadership position at various times, various titles.I have a question -
> something that each time it happened I didn't know how to handle it.
>
> What do you do if you ask an employee to do something and they refuse to
> do it? Suppose for example you request an item via email and the subordinate
> shoots back and email that says "No, I am not going to do it that way. " -
> and it happens repeatedly. Or you make requests and they continually ignore
> them, and you know they are doing it intentionally to be defiant.
>
> This may sound like a silly question, or maybe it doesn't. But it happened
> to me in 2 jobs, and I was at a loss for handling it. If you insist, you
> sound like you are pulling rank like "I am the boss and you must do what I
> say." If you go to your boss with the problem - unless it has gone on for a
> while, they will say you should handle it before escalating it, or at least
> that is what I was told. If you ignore it, the message gets out that you are
> a pushover and a chicken-little supervisor/manager.Writing them up seems
> too harsh to do so on the first offense, or even second. If you do write
> them up, how soon do you do so?
>
> Years ago in a seminar I was "taught" that refusing to handle a reasonable
> request is technically grounds for immediate dismissal; however, in reality
> most co's won't do that because they want to watch their backs, make a paper
> trail, make it look like a layoff whatever.
>
> This happened to me in two instances with, obviously, "problem"
> subordinates, and frankly I was at a loss for the best way to handle it. How
> much is too much "force"? What is too soon to escalate it? What is too long?
>
> I think a corrollary to this question is, and the reason I "amended" the
> "Step up to leadership" post is, I have learned to beware of
> "pseudo-leadership" positions. These are usually titled "Supervisor" or
> "Group leader" but they can have other titles as well. What effectively
> happens is, you are said to have the power but you really don't, so that one
> problem subordinate, who is a problem with everyone, everywhere, all the way
> around, figures out that s/he is reporting to someone with pseudo-authority,
> and takes complete advantage of it. You effectively get turned in a whipping
> girl or boy. I have seen this happen to others as well. Perhaps this is the
> key to the whole thing - having "true" power versus not? Or perhaps I just
> didn't know how to handle it.
>
> I would be interested to hear your stories and thoughts and suggestions.
> In the meantime I will stick with being a "drone" who makes equally as much
> as I did in those "leadership" positions.
>
> Ciao
>
> A
>
>
>
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