The Top 50 Management Dilemmas

Passive-aggressive behaviour

Sometimes colleagues may appear to agree with a manager and accept a course of action but then do nothing to put that agreed course of action in place. This affects the performance of the team, because things remain undone, and disagreement is better discussed and resolved rather than treated in this way. However, whenever this behaviour is challenged, the individual simply does the same thing: agrees with the criticism and accepts the need to change, but does not then make any change.

First, think:

• Can this person do what they have agreed to do? If so, why, in your view, does it remain undone? Is this unwillingness recent? Does it relate to some tasks or all tasks?
• When you think about the things this colleague ...