McCarron: How to Manage Difficult Employees

Most people who have read this column over the last several months by now are familiar with the woodpecker analogy. Most of us, if we dealt with a woodpecker in our stores, would be justifiably annoyed at the stubbornness and noise created by this personality type. 

Woodpeckers, whether customers or employees, just don’t belong in a tire dealership. Not only are they annoying, but they keep doing what they do, seemingly no matter what the owner or management says or does. 

Most people would associate woodpecker behavior by the loud and oftentimes obnoxious bullying and defiant nature. That’s the angry woodpecker. 

I’ve recently commented on the social woodpecker, too. This woodpecker often is told to do something or meet a goal and agrees readily, but never follows through. At the end of the month, the goal isn’t achieved, but they sure have a lot of reasons why it didn’t happen. 

This month, we are going to focus on the silent employee woodpecker. These woodpeckers are very curious birds. They don’t seem to enjoy their job. They don’t hide their disdain for customers. They meet new ideas with skepticism. 

They don’t agree or disagree with what they are told to do. They provide half answers and vague commitment. They may say “OK,” but it’s four syllables long and drenched in sarcasm. Their words say they agree, but their body language is a very telling “no.” 

Silent woodpeckers use deception and miscommunication as their weapons of choice. They plant doubt in other employees’ minds and don’t challenge a goal directly — just its viability. 

When asked to engage in conversation, silent woodpeckers use a strategy called catastrophizing, frequently asking self-serving questions drenched in disgust. “Oh, I think we tried that two years ago. Didn’t you almost get fired because of it?” 

Sometimes they lay a series of mines masquerading as sincere questions, but are building to a statistically irrelevant question, such as, “What if we don’t meet that goal? What if there’s snow/a hurricane/a tornado? What happens if aliens invade on Independence Day?” 

A silent woodpecker’s goal isn’t to ask relevant questions. It’s to sow a growing seed of doubt in your leadership. 

Their greatest weapon is saying nothing. When directly confronted, they shut down so completely and swiftly you might as well be talking to a wall. 

Some stare. Some avoid eye contact. But make no mistake about it, they’re pecking wood in their head. 

Silent woodpeckers have two issues going on. They care only for their own well-being, not yours, and they are deceptive about it. This combination is very effective for them. 

Angry woodpeckers often use loud noise to stoke the fear of escalation — that the ruckus will get worse or more out of control. Silent woodpeckers use fear, as well, but it’s the fear of the unknown. 

Silent woodpeckers should simply be terminated. It’s difficult enough to challenge an employee who is hostile or deceptive. It’s an entirely different battlefield strategy to work on improving both negative behaviors. 

From a mere financial perspective, this employee does not produce work needed to ensure success and has the attitude of a porcupine that just found out it’s trapped. 

Much less money will be spent onboarding someone new with less skill, but a good attitude. And much less damage will be done to your team when the silent woodpecker is absent from stoking the flames of fear behind your back. 

The silent woodpecker was probably done wrong by management at some point and is just scared of trying new employment elsewhere. They have realized they still get a paycheck for doing absolutely nothing. Why go to a place that may not deal with their attitude and behavior? 

If you insist on keeping this type of woodpecker around, that employee needs to know this will be his or her last ride. 

They need to take the opportunity to change or go now. If they change and it sticks, all sins are forgiven — and they really have to be forgiven — and you can then start with a clean slate. 

However, the employee needs to be informed that moving forward, resistance to change is going to become increasingly difficult and unsavory. Their hostility will be met with equal doses of hostility. 

This tactic works and can be successful if carried out until change happens. Unfortunately, most owners and managers back down or sabotage their own plans. 

It really is easier to just inform the silent woodpeckers on your team that their services are no longer needed, starting immediately.