Bad Apples: How to Manage Difficult Employees, Encourage Good Ones to Stay, and Boost Productivity

by Terrence Sember, Brette Sember

Overview

Unlike other career books, this book offers managers a team-focused approach to neutralizing a not-so-pleasant—or productive—working atmosphere. Instead of isolating the one problem employee, relevant teams are considered as part of the solution. The result? Solutions stick and there's less likelihood of the bad apple ruining the bunch.

Complete with situational advice and case studies taken straight from the trenches, this simple and straightforward guide teaches managers how to:

• Calm down combatants
• Motivate wasters
• Silence gossips
• De-arm backstabbers
• Convince passive-aggressives to open up
• Teach narcissists the importance of the team

This book helps managers decide what the right course of action is—whether it means chastising negative behavior, encouraging positive outlooks, separating certain folks, creating teams for success, giving employees warnings, and/or firing the ones who are pretty much rotten through and through. This book is essential reading for any manager looking to ensure a pleasant, productive—and fruitful—work environment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605500041
Publisher:	Adams Media
Publication date:	06/18/2009
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	853,303
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Brette McWhorter Sember, JD (Clarence, NY), is the author of the children’s book Quiz Book 3: Three Times the Fun. Sember has also taught an online course for Barnes and Noble University called Responsible Credit Card Spending. The mother of two children, Sember is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). A former attorney, she also has had extensive experience working with children in her role as a law guardian in four counties in New York.

Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Introduction xiii

Part 1 About Bad Apples 1

Chapter 1 What is a Bad Apple? 3

Chapter 2 Types of Bad Apples 19

Chapter 3 Bad Apples You Inherit 41

Chapter 4 Bad Apples Outside of Your Control 55

Part 2 Problem-Solving Techniques 71

Chapter 5 Motivating Bad Apples to Become Good 73

Chapter 6 Maintaining Good Apples 91

Chapter 7 Dealing with Personality Conflicts 115

Chapter 8 Cultivating Conflict Resolution Skills 133

Chapter 9 Disciplining Bad Apples 149

Chapter 10 Ditching Bad Apples 159

Chapter 11 Considering Legal Ramifications 175

Part 3 Fend Off Future Bad Apples 187

Chapter 12 Create a Positive Work Environment 189

Chapter 13 Avoid Hiring Bad Apples 207

Conclusion Balancing the Apple Cart 225

Index 235