SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 190,000 business leaders. We run the poll question each week in our e-newsletter.
How do you deal with “steamrollers” on your team?
- I coach them to be more sensitive: 68%
- I leave them alone — they’re getting great results: 9%
- I change their roles so they have fewer difficult interactions: 20%
- I send them to a different team: 3%
Slowing down the Steamrollers. It’s hard to have a difficult conversation with a Steamroller because many times they’re turning out solid results. Tackle the issue head-on instead of avoiding it by changing their roles. They’re never going to drop the rough behaviors if they’re not coached on doing so. Don’t pass a problem along to someone else. Give the person the coaching they need to continue delivering great results without stepping on so many toes along the way.
Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS, author of “Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results” and “One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership.”