The ideal team does not exist. Made with diverse personalities, different genders and ages, it constitutes a work collective, in which humans sometimes express themselves loud and clear. Finding his personality despite a single and indivisible professional community, the specialist in everything, the one who explains even before being asked, makes you smile at the beginning. Then annoys. And if nothing is resolved, war may be declared, either with colleagues who do not support this takeover, or by the manager who may feel challenged.
Impromptu speeches, emails to the whole world, big speeches in big conference style at the coffee machine. “we think of two models of “know-it-alls”. The one in “Tontons Flingueurs” mode is the old one, the only memory of the place, who lectures the parachuted manager. At the other end, the overeducated neophyte who thinks he’s the Chosen One, aka Thomas Anderson in “The Matrix”. “Obviously we have to challenge the status quo. The question is: how to exploit the potential of these employees?” analyzes Alexandre Imbeaux, product director at Lucca (publisher of HR and finance solutions). “Yesterday we respected the pyramid, but employees want less and less to stay at their place,” continues the expert.
“The manager would be wrong to lock up intelligence”
One in two French people are considering changing careers, 60% among 26-34 year olds (Lucca/Augmented Talent survey on employability and professional future, October 2024). “73% of employees think they need to develop new skills, but only 20% actually broach the subject with their manager.” Reluctant. Suspicious. This proportion of silent people raises questions. For Alexandre Imbeaux, it is up to the manager to detect the signs of impatience to help his colleague progress, without getting offended or angry when it is expressed. The costume of a little chef draped in his convictions is less and less appropriate, at a time when successes on Youtube and influencers are the new models. “The manager must exploit the company’s strengths rather than putting them under cover,” judges Alexandre Imbeaux.
Thinking about the aspirations of the most uninhibited members of your team is also a spur to not forget those 80% who are also ready to evolve. “We must use this expressed energy to nourish the collective! The manager would be wrong to want to lock away intelligence, when we have a fantastic tool: the law of September 5, 2018 for the freedom to choose one’s professional future” (which notably fundamentally reformed professional training). However, 57% of HR managers admit that they do not communicate on the training offer to employees (Lucca survey, August 2023). “Training your employees instead of recruiting, c “It’s also about trusting them by giving them the means to take charge of their career in the company, to evolve by enriching their skills and therefore to retain them,” concludes the expert.
Dare to reframe if the gentle method does not work
“The manager must ask himself: why is the person acting in this way?”, underlines Vianney Lepoutre, coach of managers and executives. Check with HR to exfiltrate the frankly hostile, the definitely oppositional. Identify high potentials, who find solutions to everything, faster than others. “It’s a great chance to have them on a team,” continues the author of The manager’s relational skills (Gereso, June 2024).
For other profiles, the fiery and the uninhibited, learn to transform them into allies. “The gentle method is to give him feedback by asking him about his lucidity. In a low posture, to listen to him.” Understand the “why” of this behavior. Make him aware of his attitude. Then make a deal. For example, with a code, the person will be able to speak in a meeting at a specific time. The know-it-all will no longer lack recognition and will become a valuable colleague, capable of conveying messages for his manager.
This will nevertheless have to adopt a more muscular method if the gentle method has not been enough. “You have to be very demanding in the work of these people, set the bar high to help them grow. Dare to confront and reframe them, even if it means having a more directive language.” Being silent does the manager a disservice to the other members of the team. Finally, a financial approach will help the most stubborn change: like putting 75% of the variable on behavior. Just to finish convincing the last holdouts…
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