Making an Effective Challenge to an Irresponsible Colleague

Irresponsible colleagues become skilled at appearing to be busy.  Many organisations have them: people who are able at managing the impression they create to those who work above them, but don’t actually shoulder much of the work in their teams.  These colleagues prefer to let deadlines slip, arrive late at some meetings or miss others altogether.  They always have a ready excuse or ‘reason’ for why they failed to do their share of the work.  They place strain on their more industrious team colleagues, safe in the knowledge that one of them is likely to bail them out.  A pattern is quickly established whereby the irresponsible colleague doesn’t do all or some of their work on time or to standard, and one of their colleagues steps in and does it for them.

Irresponsible colleagues can be energy-sapping and draining to deal with. Not only can you end up doing their work as well as your own, but they appear immune to feedback. When challenged about why they have failed to meet a deadline or skipped a meeting, they can be quick to create a half-hearted promise to change their ways, but subsequently carry on as if that challenge had not occured.

However, a well crafted, skillful confrontation can influence an irresponsible colleague towards approaching their work in a more committed way.  Click here to keep reading and find out how.