Dear Joan:
I have read several of the articles on your site and have an additional question. I work for a fairly large government agency. I am the most senior person (time-wise) in the building, so many people turn to me for advice and information. Our unit has gone through significant changes over the last few months, including the addition of a new case manager. This person has years of experience in the field, but has moved or been moved from department to department. Although she appears to know the technical aspects of her job, she has significant issues with personal communication (that's the nicest way I can say it). Since her arrival, she has been a horrible gossip, used her work time to "research" the work of others and then report back to administration (ignoring her own faults), and regularly attempts to get other employees to make negative statements about our co-workers. However, she presents herself as a happy, friendly coworker to everyone's face. She has poor boundaries with the clients she serves and with the clients she does not serve - she regularly meets with clients not assigned to her, despite having been told not to. She cannot be wrong, even when confronted with the correct information, and attempts to deflect by making others look incompetent.

My supervisor has addressed some of these issues with her and she has not responded appropriately. She has continued her behavior, despite knowing that almost everyone knows what she is doing (she just moves to a different group of people and tries to ingratiate herself with them). Some of my co-workers have been very direct with her, confronting her behavior, and when that failed, blatantly told her they do not like her and will not communicate with her, unless it is directly work related (with no real effect). It is to the point now that people have to monitor their offices because they suspect she uses her key to get into their offices when they are not at work (same key works for all case worker offices). I've noticed she has started staying later in the day, wanting to be the last worker to leave, even when she has nothing to do - she just hangs out with our clients (which she's not supposed to do).

Having talked to her prior supervisors, it appears that people have avoided "writing up" her behavior, because then she would not be eligible to move to another position (they would have been stuck with her). Her last assistant supervisor actually transferred to a different unit because it had gotten to the point that she had to have a mediator in the room when attempting to discipline this worker.

We've been nice. We've been respectful. We've confronted the behavior. We've ignored the behavior. We've followed the chain of command with no real results (they're afraid to discipline her too because they don't want to be "stuck" with her either). Unfortunately, she's basically office poison. Do you have any suggestions as to how those of us who have to deal with her on a daily basis?

Answer:
The consequence of not enforcing consequences is painfully obvious in this situation.
She may be poison, but she is self-administered poison. As long as your government agency –or any organization--continues to allow problem performers to remain employed, they will continue to poison themselves.

The managers’ “pass the turkey” behavior only breeds more dysfunction. As this poisonous employee is passed from department to department, she learns she can get away with murder—which increases the thrill she is getting from amassing so much personal power over the organization. It’s a game and she is winning. Good employees are losing.

She needs to be taken out. Senior management needs to join with a willing supervisor and marshal a strong offense, and not stop applying pressure until she is gone. I don’t buy the argument that no one can be fired in a government, or union, organization. It takes work, but if she is that bad, she will fire herself. She has been told not to get into other’s business, not to hang out with clients, not to meddle with other people’s clients, not to badmouth and gossip. Progressive discipline works for every other organization and it will work for yours—but it takes willingness to enforce it. And, if she is indeed going into other people’s offices and files after hours, she can be caught and walked out the door.

If your leadership is unwilling to do the right thing, then you are stuck with having to deal with her, which is the most disturbing and frustrating result of weak, “powerless” leadership. You have limited choices: ignore her and wait until your boss passes her on to some other hapless department; or quit your job and go work for an organization that holds people accountable. In my mind, either choice is a crying shame.

Joan Lloyd is an executive coach, management consultant, facilitator and professional trainer. Email your question to Joan at info@joanlloyd.com. Visit www.JoanLloyd.com <http://www.joanlloyd.com/> to search an archive of more than 1300 of Joan’s articles. (800) 348-1944 © Joan Lloyd & Associates, Inc.