TOXIC EMPLOYEES AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM

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TOXIC EMPLOYEES AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM

• Presented by
• Mauricio A. Velásquez, MBA President, CEO
• The Diversity Training Group
• Mauriciov_at_diversitydtg.com
• For
• Hampton Roads SHRM

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Meet Mauricio Velásquez

• Mauricio Velásquez is the President of The
  Diversity Training Group (DTG) in Herndon, VA.
  Mauricio serves as a diversity trainer, sexual
  harassment prevention trainer, executive coach,
  mentoring trainer, expert witness, and assists
  organizations with multicultural marketing,
  selling, and customer service.
• DTGs clients include small and large, public and
  private organizations. A partial list includes
  Datatel, National Institute of Standards and
  Technology, The Brookings Institution, The United
  States Coast Guard, Navy JAG Corps, and the Navy
  Surgeon General to name a few.

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Meet Mauricio Velásquez

• Mauricio is a former human resource generalist
  and also served as a demographic researcher for
  the Internal Revenue Service where he first
  anticipated the rise of diversity inside and
  outside the workplace. He has had the good
  fortune to work with Dr. W. Edwards Deming, Peter
  F. Drucker, and Jerry Harvey. Mauricio credits
  much of his interest in human resource management
  and the earning of his MBA to their influences.
• Mauricio has trained over 400,000 employees,
  managers, and executives in the areas of
  diversity, gender equity, mentoring, and
  multicultural marketing and selling.

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How did I come up with this topic?

• I have specialized in hostile audiencesduring
  my sixteen years as a trainer and change agent
• As a Sexual Harassment Prevention Trainer
• As a Diversity Trainer and Expert Witness
• Most recently as an Executive Coach where I am
  asked Please meet with him/her 11 all day,
  coach this person (do what you do in your
  workshop with one of our people) and tell us
  whether we fire or keep him/her!

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My Two Favorites

• You cant train all of us, some of us you will
  have to kill!
• You must be a Jew!

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Addressing Toxic Employees
What You Dont Know You Dont Know (DKDK)
What You Dont Know (DK)
What You Know (K)
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Intent vs. Impact
Intent (What you meant to say) MEAN TO DO vs.
Impact (What you actually said) ACTIONS/RESULTS
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My Agenda

• Understand the toxic employee
• Understand the the toxic work environment
• Learn how to deal with toxic employees and toxic
  work environments build a tool kit/skill kit
  and plan of action

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Mauricios Mission

• Provoke Thought
• Facilitate Discussion and Learning
• Surprise You/Entertain You - Edutain
• Add Value
• Provide Subject Matter Expertise
• Make it interactive and harness talent in
  this room
• 1 Ground Rule PARTICIPATE, Ask Questions!!!

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Toxic Employee

• When you hear the phrase - toxic employee what
  pops into your head?

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Toxic Employee

• Always unhappy and negative but they dont keep
  their misery to themselves
• Why? Because misery loves company!
• Body language tells it all
• Glass is always half empty
• Incredible memory remembers stuff from years
  ago
• Love to say Not my job!
• Always looking for proof

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TE is always looking for proof

• Stereotypes All of us must begin to address and
  minimize the many stereotypes that exist within
  our organization.

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Toxic Employee (Continued)

• Can also be bigoted negativity is projected
  towards a particular group gender, race, age,
  sexual orientation, religion, management or new
  management
• Can be a bully big, loud, angry (back of my
  head potential for violence in the workplace)
• Always recruiting!
• TE will sink hooks in new person ASAP
• Let me tell you who to watch out for! You with
  me?

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Negative Attitudes and Behaviors
Behaviors Attitudes Values
influence all negatively!
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Toxic Work Environment

• When you hear the phrase - toxic work
  environment what pops into your head?

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TE Poisons the work environment

• First we all know who they are!
• But what do we do about them?
• Send them to individual 11 coaching or
• Train everyone dip everybody and sometimes
  the TE does not even show up
• Or do nothing until something happens what I
  call a moment of truth
• Too many organizations contact us with a
  reactionary posture or a real sense of urgency

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The Perfect Toxic Storm

• Toxic employee or manager is a bully (well known)
• They have a false sense of security they have
  never been challenged
• How does TE interpret silence of peers?
• Peers are avoiders of conflict or they expect
  Manager to do something! BUT
• Manager is not skilled to deal with TE
• Manager is the smartest and promoted for their
  expertise but they dont have the
  interpersonal/human relations skills DKDK and
  they MEAN WELL

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Building a Toxic Employee Skill/Tool Kit

• To be successful in the new and increasingly
  diverse century, we need new skills, new tools,
  and new competencies.
• Mauricio Velásquez

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Before You Can

• Understand Others..
• You Must Understand Yourself First!

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What Your Scores Tell You
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What Your Scores Tell You
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It is in the approach
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Start Message

• Start with a Positive
• Please stop_______________________________________
  
• (describe negative/unproductive
  behavior)
• Start_____________________________________________
  
• (describe new, more
  appropriate/positive behavior)
• Continue_________________________________________
• (describe ongoing positive
  behavior)
• End with a Positive

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I-Statement

• How do I coach someone when I feel my differences
  are being held against me?
• (Start with a Positive)
• When you ___________________, I feel
  ______________________
• (describe behavior) (impact of
  behavior)
• I would prefer ___________________________________
  ________
• (new behavior more
  appropriate/productive)
• OR
• I feel _____________________, when you
  ____________________
• (impact of behavior)
  (describe behavior)
• I would prefer ___________________________________
  ________
• (new behavior more
  appropriate/productive)
• OR

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Behaviors that.

• WE WANT TO SEE
• PREFERS

• WE DONT WANT TO SEE
• NEVERS

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The Toxicity Can Self Perpetuate
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Using Communication to Solve Problems
?
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Using Communication to Solve Problems
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Action Plan

• How can I create a more productive and less toxic
  work environment?
• How can I use what I have learned in this class
  in my organization and beyond?

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THANK YOU

• FOR..
• YOUR TIME
• YOUR CONSIDERATION
• and your
• PARTICIPATION
• If you loved the class tell everybody you know
  about it. If you didnt like the class keep it
  to yourself!

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To contact Mauricio, DTG

• Mauricio Velásquez, MBA
• President, CEO
• The Diversity Training Group
• 692 Pine Street
• Herndon, VA 20170
• Tel. [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• Email mauriciov_at_diversitydtg.com
• WWW diversitydtg.com