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Real-World Management We provide commentary, a forum, and guidance about real world management issues.

Our interests include the development of operational excellence, the use of targets, public services delivery, managing people and implementing change.

Toxic Staff – The Five Trouble TraitsMany managers new to their roles assume that if they perform well, treat staff fair...
11/09/2026

Toxic Staff – The Five Trouble Traits

Many managers new to their roles assume that if they perform well, treat staff fairly and provide good leadership, they will receive a positive response. Often they do—but by no means always. Several managers I have worked with have found that certain negative behaviours persist regardless of management style, and sometimes even in response to exemplary leadership. Management literature frequently examines toxic leadership, but pays considerably less attention to toxic staff behaviour.

Based on personal consultations with managers in the English public service, there are five recurring staff traits (staff qualified up to and including degree level) that managers have reported as particularly problematic. Such traits are usually displayed by only a small minority of staff and are not all-defining of their workplace contributions. Nevertheless, their negative impact can be disproportionately large.

Entitlement thinking
Some staff develop a strong sense of entitlement: they believe they inherently deserve particular privileges, regardless of their contribution to the organisation. Managers have sometimes reported that this behaviour became more prevalent with Generation X staff. Entitlement can cause resentment amongst other staff and damage teamwork when individuals expect favourable treatment without demonstrating a corresponding level of contribution.

Factional behaviour
Some staff consistently show an internal us versus them mentality, creating divisions between groups, individuals and management. What may begin as a small disagreement can become an increasingly pernicious workplace development. Factional behaviour diverts energy away from productive work, limits creativity and damages teamwork. It can also spread beyond the original participants, as colleagues feel pressured to take sides.

Poor emotional intelligence and manners
Some staff repeatedly annoy or alienate others through disrespectful, inconsiderate or socially insensitive behaviour. They may fail to recognise how their words or actions affect colleagues. If the behaviour is directed toward line managers, disciplinary measures may become appropriate. The consequences can include unnecessary stress, impaired collaboration and declining morale. Although individual incidents between staff may appear relatively minor, repeated behaviour can gradually undermine working relationships.

The barrack-room lawyer
Some staff regularly broadcast their critical interpretations of what management is doing, while making little constructive contribution to resolving the issues they identify. They may present themselves as amateur experts on procedures, despite having only a partial understanding of them. This behaviour can escalate disputes, generating unnecessary drama and spreading dissatisfaction. It can be particularly damaging during organisational change, when uncertainty already creates opportunities for misunderstanding.

Gossip
Some staff habitually circulate information about the personal lives of colleagues, often in an unkind way. Gossip can appear harmless, but it consumes working time and can seriously damage relationships. It can also create an environment in which people become wary of colleagues and disrespectful behaviour spreads.

Dealing with the Toxic Traits

None of this removes the manager’s responsibility to address poor performance whilst taking proper account of individuals’ personal circumstances. A considerate and proportionate approach remains essential. However, managers—particularly those new to the role—should also recognise that toxic workplace cultures are not necessarily created by poor leadership alone. Damage to culture can arise even where management is competent, fair and supportive.

Managers should therefore expect to encounter these behaviours, rather than being surprised when they do. They should develop practical, situational strategies for responding to them and, importantly, should not allow problems to drift without intervention. Some situations will inevitably be complex. Seeking advice from experienced managers can help.

Handled constructively, dealing with difficult staff behaviour need not simply be an unpleasant part of management. It can also be an interesting intellectual and practical challenge: understanding what is happening, identifying the underlying dynamics and choosing the most effective response.

Have we really not improved our definition of management since 1916?Definitions of effective management often run along ...
04/08/2026

Have we really not improved our definition of management since 1916?
Definitions of effective management often run along the lines of ‘the achievement of goals through the organisation and oversight of resources and people’. And very often there is a focus on planning, organising, directing, and controlling—principles first articulated by Henri Fayol, a French mining engineer and management theorist in 1916.

Three observations can help provide a clearer picture: (1) successful managers utilize a range of approaches and have various personality types; (2) what successful managers do can rarely be copied so as to allow others to be equally successful; (3) the success rates of those chosen for management positions varies widely.

Management Field Theory recognises that good managers navigate the complexities of guiding people and managing resources amidst a constantly changing environment—a field in the scientific sense —to achieve goals established by the field. The field is shaped by many factors which can include the viewpoints of stakeholders, clients, and staff, along with external influences. Necessary management responses may involve delivering outputs, maintaining and improving customer satisfaction, controlling costs, addressing employee attitudes, responding to social and environmental factors and managing internal politics, historic organisational issues and recovery situations. And in addition to setting the requirements, the field can impose constraints on the means by which they can be met.

Effective managers exhibit sui generis characteristics that connect strongly with their field, facilitating their success. They do not need to embody every ideal trait or possess a comprehensive Fayol-type skill set. Crucial strengths may include customary skills such as organisation and planning but will also encompass some other qualities such as drive, motivational skills, creativity, sound judgment of individuals, the ability to foster trust, resilience, emotional stability, and a strong set of values and behaviours. Some of these abilities and traits may be challenging to identify in the short term and are often impossible to fully replicate. But one or two of them can be pivotal for a field connection. The personality type of a manager is of lesser significance.

To maintain their effectiveness, managers must remain responsive to the evolving dynamics of their field. The process of hiring and assessing managers frequently falls short because many leaders and recruiters lack a solid grasp of Management Field Theory. Such misunderstandings can also lead individuals to pursue managerial positions whilst having a limited understanding of what the role involves.

Ultimately, the major determinant of effective management is not the possession of a standard and constrained skill set —it’s the possession of specific and distinctive attributes providing for effective functioning in the field!

Staff Training - Like It, Don't Hump It!Staff training and development has its champions and many dedicated practitioner...
16/10/2022

Staff Training - Like It, Don't Hump It!

Staff training and development has its champions and many dedicated practitioners. But in many organisations their messages are still to take hold so as to create a critical momentum. There is no shortage of evidence of the benefits: increased productivity, better customer service, reduced employee turnover, and improved company culture. Turbulence in the working environment is resulting in new opportunities and challenges: the digital revolution is allowing much more flexible and tailored training delivery; the pace of change is creating a need for more frequent upskilling; and the recognition is increasing that training can be a competitive differentiator as a means of attracting talent. So why are training and development still not more frequently central in operational strategies? It’s necessary to take a step back and consider fundamental prevailing attitudes. The inconvenient reality is that many managers starting in the job possess little enthusiasm for it. It can be said that there still exists the ‘Training Hump’ – attitudes that have a variety of causes. Training can be taken to imply accountability: managers might fear that putting in place training schemes makes them more clearly accountable for the capabilities and performance levels of the workforce. They might worry that training others might in due course create an enhanced risk to their own position. They might perceive that they have achieved some personal success despite having received only limited training so why should it be different for others? They might question the effectiveness of formal training or have concerns about the cost. The possibility that time and money will have been wasted if trained staff leave the organisation might be a further concern. These attitudes can often be demonstrated in the Staff Performance Review Skew - the process is often much more taken up by appraising other staff rather than with the identification of their future training and development needs. This attitudinal underbelly exists and persists but is not acknowledged by managers themselves or the organisations they work for. It may not even be recognised. But the inability to develop staff capabilities in line with needs is a route to failure. Whole-organisation skills strategies require the development of an emphatic training and development culture having advocacy from senior management and widespread ownership. If significant attitudinal resistance exists, particularly on the part of first-line and middle management, it needs to be strongly addressed. The message is clear: training and development – like it, don’t hump it! #

The Introvert/Extrovert Debate – Let’s Have the Intro!Can introverts really be good managers?’ The fact that it’s still ...
25/09/2022

The Introvert/Extrovert Debate – Let’s Have the Intro!
Can introverts really be good managers?’ The fact that it’s still being discussed reveals a big truth: the value of introverts as managers is grossly underestimated. In many workplace situations they perform more effectively than extroverts. Here below is the reality from my experience in the English public services.
There are some performance aspects that are more strongly associated with one type rather than the other. So to consider them let’s think about those individuals whose characteristics lie in the top thirty per cent at either end of the introversion-extroversion scale.
Introverts are likely to possess these advantages:
- a more consistent focus on the task in hand, and a willingness to persist in the face of difficulties
- more interest in the design and development of processes and workflows
- a disposition more likely to inspirit trust in others
- better judgement of the character and abilities of others, a particular weakness of some extroverts
- a deeper analytical approach to general workplace issues
- a lesser tendency to allow ‘Dark Triad’ characteristics of narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellism to impact on others.
Extroverts are likely to posses these advantages:
- better performance in representative roles when dealing with peer organisations, clients and outside bodies
- a wider breadth of perspective on organisational issues
- more effectiveness in dealing with short-term projects, recovery situations and emergencies
- a greater propensity to belong to formal and within the organisation potentially assisting business coordination and benefitting their own careers
- a greater tendency to make trade-offs between pressing exigencies and over-formal compliances.
Any organisation that is syuppressing the involvement of introverts is likely to be depriving the organisation of skill sets that can directly impact on top-line performance. So it’s time for the debate to end. Extroverts and introverts – they are both needed in management. But in the face of some attitudes at the present time it’s necessary to emphasise - Let’s have the intro! Visit https://realworldmgt.com/?3142063731

19/09/2022

Team Leaders have got to Role with It!
Team leaders need to possess creativity. Creativity in the setting of team roles and the appointment of staff to them is the single most important determinant of team success. Maintaining teams is not just a procedural matter - creativity needs to be continual. Key abilities for leaders to possess are the design or modification of team roles and the fitting of individuals to them. All too often team leaders stick to historic role structures and staff placement policies. Roles must be regularly reviewed in the light of the performance metrics of the team and the softer feedback gained from team members. When areas of underperformance are identified, elements of workgroup processes can be redesigned and new appointments considered. Mapping business processes can assist. Where are difficulties and bottlenecks occurring? What is not being done that needs to be done? Is there scope for transferring certain small workflow tasks common to many staff to single members of staff to achieve a better focus? What causes frustrations? What do team members complain about? Complaints from team members about other team members may be a roles issue. What can you discern that team members are concerned about even if the views are not openly expressed? A further step is that in some situations roles can be designed on the basis of the particular skills and interests of team members - so long as the roles so can be effectively integrated with others. In making appointments, team leaders need a good understanding of team members – their skills, their attitudes and interests, and crucially their potential. A good team leader should not be afraid of making role appointments that surprise others. Of course the duties and responsibilities of the roles and where they begin and end must always be made clear to all team members. And the great thing is that even small changes to roles and appointments can refresh a team and produce real benefits: small change-big win situations are often looked for but not so often found. Team leaders – you have got to role with it!

More about the development of teams can be found in the book ‘Targets and Terror – England’s Public Services Management Revolution’ by William Barclay www.amazon.co.uk/Targets-Terror-Englands-Management-Revolution/dp/1916035388

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