Management Tip of the Day: Manage a Challenging (and Valuable) Employee

Are you having trouble viewing this email? If so, click here to see it in a web browser. HOME   |   TIPS   |   BLOGS   |   THE MAGAZINE   |   BOOKS   |   STORE RSS   |   Mobile NOVEMBER 9, 2012 Manage a Challenging (and Valuable) Employee Genius often comes with downsides. If you have a valuable (but disruptive) employee on your team, try these management tactics: Understand the risks. Your job is to balance cohesion and creativity on your team. If the employee is negatively affecting the culture, weigh the costs of keeping him around. Don't stifle people. The employee's limitations may be the same source of her talents. Take a "control freak" who wants to own a project completely. If you view this as her work style instead of a difficulty, and perhaps give her a separate project to run with, you can leverage this talent instead of squashing it. Keep things moving. Give creative individuals enough independence to innovate, but then move the project forward with individuals who can act. Today's Management Tip was adapted from "How to Manage Your Smartest, Strangest Employee" by Jeff Stibel. Read the full post and join the discussion » Share Today's Tip: FEATURED PRODUCT Managing Global Innovation: Frameworks for Integrating Capabilities around the World Ebook Now Available Yves Doz and Keeley Wilson show how to build and leverage a global innovation network. Drawing on extensive research and a wealth of real company examples, the authors walk you through a set of practical frameworks for acquiring and integrating innovation-critical knowledge from multiple far-flung sources. Bridging theory and practice, Managing Global Innovation gives you the know-how and the tools you need to harness critical expertise from around the globe and channel it into your innovation programs. ADVERTISEMENT Follow the Tip: PREVIOUS TIPS When Working Hard, Make Time for Rest Prepare to Answer Customers' Toughest Questions Make the Most of a Bad Job Get to Know Your Unknown Audience Toss the Old Rules for Selling Reward Yourself for Doing the Tasks You Hate Try Crowdsourcing Your Performance Reviews Make a Job Offer That They'll Accept Save Time by Saying No To Persuade a Listener, Establish Common Ground All Previous Tips BEST SELLERS HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials HBR's 10 Must Reads Library Set Guide to Persuasive Presentations Guide to Better Business Writing Guide to Getting the Right Work Done Introducing Mobile ManageMentor Powered by the proven content of Harvard ManageMentor™ iTunes >> Android >> UNSUBSCRIBE   |   UPDATE YOUR PROFILE   |   MORE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS   |   PRIVACY POLICY Was this email forwarded to you? If so, sign up to start receiving your own copy. ABOUT THIS MAILING LIST You have received this message because you subscribed to the "Management Tip of the Day" email newsletter from Harvard Business Review. If at any point you wish to remove yourself from this list, change your email address, or sign up for other email newsletters and alerts, please visit the Harvard Business Review Email Newsletter Preference Center. OPT OUT If you do not wish to receive any email messages from Harvard Business Review, click here. ADVERTISE WITH HBR This enewsletter is read by thousands of decision makers every day. Learn more about connecting your brand with this audience. Copyright © 2012 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing | 60 Harvard Way | Boston, MA 02163 Customer Service: 800-545-7685 (+1-617-783-7600 outside the U.S. and Canada)