5 Worst Mistakes Leaders Make When Addressing Bad Behavior

There is an epidemic of bullying and incivility in healthcare that not only affects morale and turnover, but it also affects patient outcomes. The problem is that front line leaders do not always understand how to deal with the bad behavior of their employees, especially the employees who are so clinically competent.
Addressing disruptive behavior among employee is one of the most challenging aspects of being a leader. Leaders are often heard saying, “If only my employees could get along, my job would be so much easier.” Yet, it’s rare that an organization provides leaders with the skills and tools they need to address incidents of bullying, incivility, and interpersonal conflicts.

When left to figure it out themselves, many leaders, without realizing, make things worse. They have good intent but don’t always make good decisions when addressing bad behavior.

Over the last 10 years working with leaders to cultivate professional, healthy workforce cultures by eradicating bullying and incivility, I’ve identified 5 critical mistakes leaders make when attempting to address unprofessional conduct.

1. Thinking they only have to address the behavior once

You have an employee who is clinically excellent but toxic. The physicians love her; she gets frequent accolades from patients, yet you can’t keep staff because she eats them for breakfast. You finally find the courage to have an honest conversation with her. You set clear expectations for behavior moving forward, document the conversation, and then scratch her off your list, thinking that you never have to have that uncomfortable conversation again!

Why this is a mistake.

One uncomfortable conversation won’t change someone’s behavior – especially someone who’s been behaving badly for decades.

What you should do.

After the conversation, schedule weekly touch point meetings with this employee to review progress. It may take some time but this employee will realize that you are serious and will either step up or you’ll have the opportunity to step them out.

2. Addressing someone’s unprofessional conduct at a staff meeting

You have three employees who swipe in 15-20 minutes late every morning. Everyone else arrives on time. Instead of confronting the late employees individually, you talk about the importance of why everyone needs to come to work on time during a staff meeting.

Why this is a mistake.

You’ll lose credibility with the rest of your employees because everyone in that meeting who comes into work on time knows that you’re talking about those 3 people but don’t have the courage to tell them. It’s a passive approach to addressing an issue.

What you should do.

If you’re having an issue with just one or a small handful of employees, address the issue individually.

3. Ignoring unprofessional conduct because the employee is clinically excellent

You have an employee whom you’ve been dealing with for years. He is a high performer and excellent charge nurse yet has been known to sabotage any new employee he doesn’t like. He loves to pit people against each other and when in charge, gives the easiest assignments to his friends while crushing his enemies with the worst assignments. You’ve not done anything about it in the past because when he’s in charge, you know the unit will be functioning well; he works overtime when needed, and has excellent clinical skills.

Why this is a mistake.

When we ignore someone’s disruptive behavior just because they are clinically excellent, we put patients at risk and the good employees will leave you. Numerous studies prove this. Enough said.

What you should do.

Performance and behavior should hold equal weight. Set clear performance AND behavioral expectations with employees. Tell this employee that although clinically competent, his behavior is unacceptable. Oh, and take him out of the charge role. Never have someone in an informal leadership role if they are not professional role models.

4. Waiting until they’ve had enough before starting a documentation trail

You have an employee whom everyone complains about. This employee is abrasive, overly critical, and has been known to berate coworkers in front of patients. You’ve ignored complaints because you know this employee is going through a rough time in her personal life and she’s a high performer. You haven’t taken the time to document any of the complaints or incidents of unprofessional behavior. Then, one of your new nurses rushes into your office quits because of this employee. Enough is enough! Now you decide to take action but you have no documentation of the previous incidents of disruptive behaviors.

Why this is a mistake.

It’s rare that one incident results in a clean termination. The reality is, especially when it comes to behavior, often times managers have to build a case. You build a case by documenting every incident of disruptive behaviors that are in violation of your code of conduct; unit based professional behavioral agreements, etc. until you show a pattern of behaviors that undermine a culture of professionalism.

What you should do.

Document every incident of behaviors that you believe are in violation of a professional code of conduct – no matter how minor or “justified” reason. As Anna Schlatter, VP of Patient Care Services at Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest, a leader in my Healthy Workforce Academy does, “Document on your employees like you documented on your patients.” Brilliant!

5. Not involving HR early

You have an employee who is toxic and finally make the decision to put her on corrective action. You don’t involve your HR rep and put her on a performance improvement plan. Then 3 months later when you get yet another complaint, you decide to terminate her. Yet when you ask HR to approve the termination, you “hit a brick wall”. Your HR rep tells you that you don’t have good documentation; they’ve never heard that there was an issue with the employee and the employee’s last 15 performance reviews showed meets or exceeds expectations. They deny your request.

Why this is a mistake.

Behavioral issues are rarely clear-cut. Not involving HR could make it difficult for you to actually hold an employee accountable for their behavior if it comes to termination. You need their help to ensure you are documenting in a way that helps you actually hold someone accountable.

What you should do.

Give HR a heads up as soon as you’ve addressed someone’s behavior a second time. Just a quick, “Hey. Wanted you to know about an employee….” Because if you decide to therapeutically extract this employee as some point, your HR rep will be more likely to support your decision.

Addressing disruptive behaviors isn’t always easy but it is possible when leaders are equipped with the skills and tools they need to set behavioral expectations and hold their teams accountable for professional behavior.

We can no longer afford to use silence as a strategy.

At the HWI, we’re on a mission to create a world where bullying and incivility are immediately rejected and kindness, respect, and professionalism become the new norm. We work with healthcare organizations that understand that the way their employees treat each other SHOULD be just as important as the care they provide and are committed to doing something about it.

To learn more about the Healthy Workforce Institute, go to healthyworkforceinstitute.com.