Generally there are 12 types of team members that can become difficult. It is imperative that you 1. Try to figure out the team members behavior; 2. Look for cooperation and the positive side of the behavior and build on that; 3. Try the suggested ideas for ameliorating the negative sides of the behavior; 4. Treat the person as a competent adult due your full respect and attention.

12 Types of Difficult Team Members

• The Veteran
• The Perfectionist
• The Pain in the Neck
• The Rambler
• The Legalist
• The Mediator
• The Power Monger
• The Silent Type
• The Disengaged Member
• The Raging Bull
• The Not-Enough-Time Member
• The Big Kahuna

The Disengaged Member: Has either lost interest or never had any interest in the team’s work, meetings, and efforts.

(-) Creates resentment amongst other team members, brings “negative energy” to the team. (+) Can serve as an indicator that the team has reached burn-out or overload.

Determine what motivates this person. We all feel disengaged when the work we are doing or asked to do is not what our passion is. Discussing with this person what they value in their work and what can be done to enhance their motivation may re-engage them. Ask them for ideas and suggestion on how to complete some of the work. Just the fact of asking someone for their opinion and idea on how to do some part of the team project may make them feel more involved, because you are involving them. Acknowledge what’s happening; Don’t ignore it and hope it will stop. Simply ignoring this persons negative-feelings and lack of seen effort will not make it go away. Treat them like an adult and speak with them, you never know what is going on inside and / or outside the team and work. Delegate concrete goals. Delegating a task that this person must complete that will show tangible outcomes, will possibly re-engage them. If not it will supply you with some evidence to decide what to-do, and if de-selection from the team is necessary.

What do you think?

Have you had, or if you had ‘The Disengaged Member’ on your team what are some ways that you can keep them offering ideas and remaining engaged in the team process?

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