The Challenge of Supervising Women

I’ve had several friends (male and female) ask me how they can successfully supervise women. All supervise a workforce consisting primarily of women. They all seem to have one predominate issue: There are women who are constantly fighting among themselves. At some point, the fighting overflows onto the supervisor’s lap. No one is challenging the quantity or quality of work their female workforce can accomplish; the issue is behavioral.

As supervisors, you should have learned by now to keep bickering from your own job performance. It is a sign of immaturity and can pretty much kill your career. Often the women who are working for you have no desire to advance into management. They are performing jobs they enjoy or serve the purposes within their family situations. Most women perform those duties with maturity and dignity. You never have this problem with them unless they are sucked into the fray by others. There is the precious few who make life miserable for their co-workers and you by the constant upheaval they create.

For whatever reasons, these ladies have not matured beyond their childhood jealousies, competitiveness, backstabbing, gossip, and meanness. Although I don’t profess to be an expert in this department, I will list some possible solutions for you to try.

All disruptive behavior should be handled within the performance review process. Set very clear expectations for all employees regarding the ramifications for disruption of work through poor behavior. Be explicit about what constitutes poor on-the-job behavior. The basis of the expectations is all employees must behave respectfully to other employees and the public. Setting expectations for all employees will relieve you from being accused of picking on specific employees (another tactic of the immature).

Realize you cannot change a person’s behavior but you can hold all employees to a certain standard of behavior at work. The level of behavior must be stated clearly and enforced equally and consistently. It is not necessary for you to understand the psychological reasons for their behavior. It is necessary for you to do your job without being pulled into side issues. You distance yourself from the very personality issues that always come into play for the disruptive employee.

You must not EVER be drawn into the middle of conflict. You will be drawn into settling issues and stopping conflict. There is a difference. Being drawn into the middle means you are dealing with the personality issues. You are being asked to take sides. Settling issues and stopping the conflict is done by following the rules you have set for disruptive behavior. In the end, you may be forced into dealing discipline to some of your good employees. The outcome of applying the fair decision will be both the disruptive employee and the good employee will understand you have set the line in the sand and it is there for all employees. It is a fair decision based on a fair business rule.

The disruptive employee can cost your business money for the time spent by both the other employees (talking, griping, fighting, thinking of maneuvers) and yourself. Is this money well spent? No, it is not and it is up to you, as supervisor, to make sure you are managing the company’s money and time correctly.

After going through the many steps to improve the work situation surrounding an employee who worked for me, she led me to the final step of terminating her employment. She had caused the company and fellow employees so much grief over many years. Once I set up the fair and equitable plan for disruption of work, it became a matter of her improvement or her leaving. She could not believe the company would let her go for her behavior in the work place and sadly, her choice was not to change. Had she recognized her responsibility to the job, we all would have celebrated her improvement and continued employment. Amazingly, the office was a completely new work environment once she had departed. People were no longer dealing with the constant tension created by this person and her immature behavior. It was also an example to other employees that the company would stand behind their rules for the workplace.

I will admit this is not an easy situation to supervise and it can take a measure of strength on your part. Handling this and other tough employee issues is why you are being paid to supervise. You are to guide, teach, and reward your employees. You are to protect and enrich your company. Allowing one or two people to constantly erode the work environment is not doing your job for either.

Proverbs 29:1 "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."