I have a new team member whom after only day 3 is showing signs of being argumentative. I encourage and foster input and feedback from my team; however, the culture of our team is such that it is done in a manner that is respectful to others. This new employee has not gotten accustomed to our culture yet, and as a result is “ruffling some feathers” so to speak. She has even loudly challenged me on a couple of things. On one occasion she did it in front of my boss, and on the second occasion in the middle of another department. On the first occasion, my manager decided he didn’t want to be a part of the discussion and excused himself. I allowed her to express her opinion and we talked a bit and came to common ground. The second time it happened, she raised her voice and told me in essence that she felt that I was not listening to her. People generally tell you what they need from you, and so I shut up and listened. I listened while she loudly elaborated on her point. When she was done, I told her that I understood where she was coming from and appreciated her perspective. I told her that I could accommodate some of her suggestion, but not all of it due to scheduling constraints etc. I am seeing a trend that I don’t want to continue. What I want is her feedback and input and for her to contribute her expertise to the team. That is why we hired her. What I don’t want is for her to do so in a manner that breeds negativity among the rest of the team. Already people are avoiding her and its only day 3. Any thoughts?
