Conflict Management:
How To Deal
with a Disruptive
Team Member

by Jeff Antos

Conflict Management is frequently requested as a subject of study and discussing among leaders. Varying degrees of conflict are present in all human relationships. It's not surprising, therefore, that a results-driven team leader will frequently encounter conflict. Occasionally, the level of disruption reaches a point where it begins to interfere with business results. In this case, the source of conflict must be deliberately addressed. While conflict can nmanifest itself in a variety of forms, we chose to describe a case study on a disruptive team member.

A Case Study:

"With every decision we make, John has the dissenting opinion. He seems to believe that he is the only one who knows what is best for the team, even though he is not the team leader. We spend a lot of time explaining things to him and trying to appease him. It's reached the point where no one respects his opinion. We're beginning to get frustrated because he wastes our time. I'll bet every team meeting takes 50% longer because of him." This story illustrates the type of problem we have seen more than once on teams. More often than not, no one deals with the disruptive individual. Consequently, he or she has no idea of the severity of the problem.

Why No One Deals With the Problem:

There are a variety of reasons why a team leader is often reluctant to deal with poor behavior. First of all, most of us are conflict-averse and are uncomfortable addressing bad behavior. Also, the leader may have some of the following beliefs or fears:

• An individual who confronts the offender may be considered part of the problem.
• Addressing problem behavior may diminish the popularity of the leader.
• Singling out one person may disrupt the harmony of the team.
• The problem will go away by itself.

How to Deal with the Problem:

1. Be Sure of Your Facts
Don't act immediately. Observe behavior over a period of time. Listen to team members to determine whether or not they feel the same way about the disruptive behavior. Determine whether the individual is truly disruptive, or just expressing an unpopular opinion.

2. Confront the Individual
If appropriate, schedule a meeting in advance. Before you begin the intervention, understand that your actions will benefit the team and the disruptive indivdual. Realize that you are the one who cares about this person enough to confront him or her. Set up a meeting in an office or conference room where you will not be disrupted.

Begin by discussing and describing some of the positive qualities and achievements of the individual. Then get right to the point. Use examples to illustrate the disruptive behavior. Make sure that the individual understands that this is a business issue and that regardless of technical competence, bad behavior will not be tolerated. Finally, encourage the individual to speak to other team members about the behavior problem.

3. Resolve the Problem
Typically, the outcome of your action will binary: the individual will decide to make a dramatic change, or will reject your advice and continue unchanged. If your intervention was susccessful, you may have given the individual a needed wake up call. In many cases, he or she has been oblivious to the problem. The intervention may cause an epiphany that helps this individual to acknowledge and change the negative behavior.

4. Escalate
If the individual continues to be disruptive, he or she needs to be made to understand that their role on the team as well as their continued employment is in jeopardy. Ultimately, if no changes in behavior are made the necessary steps must be taken to remove the individual from the team or organization.

In Summary:

Remember that most people avoid dealing with the problem. Although difficult, addressing disruptive behavior will help the team function more effectively, will give the disruptive individual a needed dose of reality, and will make you more effective as a leader.

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