Any manager can have a person he does not get along with on his team. The problem may have nothing to do with the person's work performance. The employee may be great, but you simply do not like him. He has a completely different character than you, he reminds you of someone you dislike,or you feel something is strange about him, but you do not know exactly what it is. This a personal problem. How should you manage such an employee? How can you maintain a fair approach?
Alison Green, the author of popular management tips on the Fast Track blog, has some practical advice for such situations. First of all make sure that the problem really is personal, not work-related. Your aversion to the subordinate may sometimes be based on his problematic performance. If he makes your work more difficult by making mistakes, not by who he is, stop dealing with your feelings and start managing his performance. If the problem is really personal, the following steps will help you.
1. Do not lie to yourself
The problem will not disappear by ignoring it. Accept you have a problem with that subordinate. It's far better to deal with it than avoiding him. That only makes both him and others confused. Then you must start thinking about how to solve the situation.
2. Do not try to like everybody
Such efforts are useless. A manager does not have to like his subordinates in order to manage them well. The fact that you would not spend your free time together can be an advantage. You can get different perspectives on problems you are dealing with. Focus on how the employee benefits the whole team and company.
3. Focus on fair treatment
You probably spend most of the time with the subordinates you like. You tend to help them with their development and problems. You assign them interesting projects and responsibilities. At the same time, however, you should deliberately concentrate on offering the same advantages to those you find less sympathetic. You should remind yourself to be fair every day.
4. Spend more time together
You may think that spending more time together would be useless. But have you tried it? Closer communication may help you better understand each other and find more positives.
-kk-