Difficult Directs | Manager Tools

Most managers operate under a dangerous assumption: that difficult team members will improve on their own, or that the situation isn't bad enough yet to warrant action. This framework challenges that thinking head-on. When you have a direct report who consistently underperforms, creates interpersonal conflict, or resists feedback, every day you delay addressing it sends a message to your entire team that this behavior is acceptable. Your high performers notice. They wonder why you're not doing anything. Some of them start looking for other jobs.

The Manager Tools approach breaks down how to identify difficult directs into specific behavioral patterns rather than vague personality conflicts. It's not about whether someone is "difficult" in some abstract sense. It's about whether they're missing deadlines, creating rework for others, spreading negativity, or ignoring your coaching. These are observable, documentable behaviors that you can address directly. The framework provides a systematic way to track these patterns and decide when you've crossed the threshold from "needs coaching" to "needs serious intervention."

What makes this particularly valuable is the emphasis on speed and documentation. The longer a difficult direct remains in place without consequences, the more organizational damage they cause. But you can't just fire people on a whim - you need a paper trail. This framework walks through how to document performance issues in real-time, have the right conversations early, and escalate appropriately when coaching doesn't work. It's designed to help you move faster while still being fair and legally protected. The goal isn't to catch people out - it's to either fix the problem quickly or remove the person before they poison your team culture.