Bad Attitudes and How to Handle Them

One of the questions I’m most frequently asked during leadership classes is how to handle people with bad attitudes. So, I’d like to take this opportunity to share some highlights from those discussions. I will remind you that leadership is much more of an art than a science. There is no perfect roadmap that shows us how to successfully work with every person in every scenario. I’ll also remind you that you get what you tolerate; while ignoring bad attitudes and hoping they’ll improve is technically a strategy, it’s probably not your best choice.

Your Circle of Control
Let’s begin with some discussion about creating culture and developing relationships. The investments you make in these two activities are the starting point for everything you do as a leader, including dealing with bad attitudes. Fostering good, strong cultures and relationships opens the door for us to provide coaching and feedback – and to challenge bad attitudes. While none of this guarantees success, the absence of good, strong cultures and relationships is likely to result in failure.

Next, understand that your TEAM (Together Everyone Accomplishes More) is a reflection of you. If one (or more) of your TEAM members has a bad attitude, take a look in the mirror to see if anything you’re doing – or not doing – is contributing to that. This isn’t to say you’re doing anything wrong or that you’re to blame; it’s to emphasize that before you point fingers at anyone else, you should engage in some self-reflection and consider whether you have opportunities to try different strategies, some of which I’ve outlined below.

Determine the Source
This isn’t always the case, but the people with the worst attitudes are often highly competent, capable performers who have had bad past experiences. Speak with them to see if you can identify the source of their bitterness. Sometimes simply giving them the opportunity to express their feelings aloud is enough to change their attitude for the better.

Explain the Impact They Have on Others
Someone once very proudly told me during a class I was leading that he didn’t wear rubber gloves on the job because he liked the thrill of it. I tried out many of the typical responses to such a statement with no success. Finally, I played to the man’s pride and said, “OK, if that’s actually true, you may be as good as you think you are because you’re still alive. But what about the people on your TEAM who aren’t that good? What are you teaching them? And what’s going to happen if they work like you?” That managed to get his attention and launch a more productive conversation.

Empowerment
This strategy must be used with caution, so here’s where it’s especially important to know your TEAM. If a TEAM member with a bad attitude is someone who likes to be the center of attention (e.g., they interrupt meetings, classes and job briefings and like to argue), empower them. What do I mean by that? Establish ground rules and clear objectives that must be accomplished. Then, let them lead the next safety meeting or job briefing. This will allow them to meet their need for attention and usually has lasting positive effects on their attitude. In fact, quite a few safety champions have been found using this method.

Embarrassment
This is the opposite of the empowerment strategy. If you choose to use it, embarrassing someone with a bad attitude must be done strategically and respectfully – meaning that you should embarrass the behavior, not the person.

Here’s a real-life example from my time as a youth basketball coach. One of my players once tried to dunk a ball during an Amateur Athletic Union game. He came close but couldn’t do it. So, at the start of our next practice, I had the rest of the TEAM sit on the baseline while I gave him 10 chances to dunk in front of them. I told him he only had to succeed once; if he succeeded, he could try to dunk as much as he wanted for the rest of the season, but if he failed, no more dunking. He missed all 10 attempts, and dunking was no longer an issue for him or the rest of the TEAM.

Again, be strategic and respectful. The goal of making your point must supersede the goal of embarrassment. When done well, this approach can shut down showoffs, loudmouths and those disrespecting others, making it clear to them and the rest of the TEAM that there is zero tolerance for such attitudes and behaviors.

Positive Reinforcement
The topic of bad attitudes once came up during a class I was teaching in Florida. Now, I’d never met him, but a guy named Joe came up in conversation. He must have had a horrible attitude because at one point, everybody in the class pointed to Joe’s manager and said, “Tell David about Joe.”

Joe’s story was this: He had been transferred around the entire organization because no one could work with him – until he got to Tony’s crew. A few months after he began working with Tony, a storm hit, and Joe found himself working around many people he had worked with before. Those co-workers watched Joe complete the orientation, coach and mentor crew members, develop work plans and encourage others, all with a smile on his face. Someone asked Tony, “What happened to Joe?” They couldn’t believe he was the same person who’d once been so difficult to work with. In response, Tony grinned and said that all Joe had needed was some praise and positive reinforcement. Until he began working with Tony, Joe had only received criticism and negative feedback – so that’s what he’d doled out in return.

Leadership Transfer
In the book “Extreme Ownership,” authors Jocko Willink and Leif Babin state, “There are no bad teams, only bad leaders.” If we take that to the extreme (pun intended), that means employees with bad attitudes are the results of poor leadership or personality conflicts with their leaders. So, a choice must be made: improve the leader or assign another leader to oversee an employee with a bad attitude. Now, on one hand, I’m not a big fan of making my problem someone else’s problem. But on the other hand, the story of Joe and Tony is one example of how a transfer could lead to positive change.

Conclusion
Handling bad attitudes is difficult work. Doing so requires leaders to demonstrate competence and courage. As I noted earlier, opting not to address an employee’s bad attitude is a strategy, but it’s not a good one. Their attitude will likely get worse, and at the same time, the rest of your TEAM members will be watching you do nothing, likely causing their attitudes to suffer as well.

The fact is that attitudes – bad or good – are contagious. That’s something you can use to your advantage. In addition to the strategies outlined in this article and others you may have thought of, your No. 1 strategy must be to manage your own attitude and actively care about each member of your TEAM. Caring increases courage, so think about the worst attitude on your TEAM and start there.

About the Author: David McPeak, CUSP, CIT, CHST, CSP, CSSM, is the director of professional development for Utility Business Media’s Incident Prevention Institute (https://ip-institute.com) and the author of “Frontline Leadership – The Hurdle” and “Frontline Incident Prevention – The Hurdle.” He has extensive experience and expertise in leadership, human performance, safety and operations. McPeak is passionate about personal and professional development and believes that intrapersonal and interpersonal skills are key to success. He also is an advanced certified practitioner in DISC, emotional intelligence, the Hartman Value Profile, learning styles and motivators.

About Frontline Fundamentals: Frontline Fundamentals topics are derived from the Incident Prevention Institute’s popular Frontline training program (https://frontlineutilityleader.com). Frontline covers critical knowledge, skills and abilities for utility leaders and aligns with the Certified Utility Safety Professional exam blueprint.

Webinar: Bad Attitudes
March 12, 2025, at 11 a.m. Eastern
Visit https://ip-institute.com/frontline-webinars/ for more information.