How to Deal with Difficult Staff

Orginally published on Monday, November 26, 2007 at 6:36 AM
by Todd Rhoades

Does your staff get along with each other? Are there certain staff members that kinda rub you the wrong way? Gary Hardin has a great article over at Lifeway.com featuring some suggestions on how to deal with different staff personality types. He talks about the 'pushy' staffer, the 'lazy' staffer, the 'cheery' staffer, the 'fuzzy' staffer, and the 'wishy-washy' staffer. Do you have any of these on your staff? And (maybe more importantly), are YOU any of these staff members?!

The Pushy Staffer
This staffer sometimes bulldozes people and runs roughshod over others. The pushy staffer operates with day-to-day aggressiveness. Frank, a minister of music and youth, behaved this way. Youth ministry volunteers often complained that Frank spoke bluntly to them. Choir members talked about times during choir rehearsal when Frank’s temper exploded.

What makes a pushy staffer behave this way? Overaggressive, forceful people usually have a good sense of what should be done. They exhibit focus and determination. This awareness is their strong suit. But they get impatient with people who lack the same sense of focus and who are slow to catch on.

The Lazy Staffer
Jim often failed to follow through on assignments given to him at staff meetings. Time and again Jim did not enlist needed workers, nor did he adequately plan church events for which he was responsible.

Why was Jim so passive? The more I sought to understand Jim, the more I realized he feared being a failure and that he didn’t possess some of the basic skills he needed to do his job.

I tried to create an atmosphere in which Jim could attempt ministries without fear of reprisal from me if his attempts were not successful. I made sure Jim attended seminars and conferences. I gave him books to read. Jim and I worked together for three years. He never became the go-getter I believed he could have been, but I know Jim overcame some of hi passive and lazy behaviors.

The Cheery Staffer
Bill, an associate pastor, never argued or disagreed with me. In fact, Bill was quite agreeable and a wonderfully-nice individual. Bill said yes to everything and everyone. Rather than risk losing my approval, Bill committed himself to actions I knew he could not and would not complete.

As I came to know Bill better, I realized he had a deep-seated need for affirmation. Bill grew up in a home where compliments were rare. I then understood that Bill’s niceness was his way of gaining acceptance and approval from others.

I didn’t supervise Bill perfectly, but I did two things for him that made a positive difference in his performance. I gave Bill lots of affirmation. Most importantly I helped Bill set personal boundaries. In staff meetings, when Bill was tempted to take on more than I knew he could handle, I gently said, “Bill, are you sure you have time for that?”

The Fussy Staffer
June, a capable children’s minister, often voiced negative comments. She had great ideas but wallowed in worries. She complained that she couldn’t find volunteers to teach children’s Sunday School. She fussed about resource needs for her classrooms. She fretted over every children’s ministry activity. June knew what the ministry could be, but she turned sour on the present.

If you’ve ever worked with a gloomy, whining person, here is rule number one: Do not allow yourself to be drawn into the pity party. Rule number two is: Do not be quick to offer solutions. A fussy staffer is already convinced that nothing is going to work anyway.

The Wishy-Washy Staffer
Ron procrastinated on almost every tough decision he faced. He had an annoying way of putting off big projects until the deadlines loomed before him. You can imagine the anger that welled up in me every time Ron did this.

You can read more here at Lifeway.com.  There are also a number of related articles down at the bottom of that page that I think you’ll possibly find helpful!

Todd

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Hi... I'm Todd Rhoades. I'm a Christ-follower, husband, father and I love to connect leaders with other leaders. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step on Twitter.

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