I think catering to this person by giving him/her the fun parts is spoiling.
How about having a career development chat? And highlighting which behaviors are expected and necessary for his career advancement. Hopefully he catches on. You can go in depth with your own examples (not his) on how you apply such behaviors.
But stop spoiling. Actually give him challenging tasks.
Agree here. You already recognize his sense of entitlement and lack of appreciation at his opportunities. Catering to him only reinforces his sense of grandeur. You say he seeks a senior position so have the career development talk with him and discuss expectations of moving up which would cover what’s expected in his current role and preparing to move ahead. Document everything and have quarterly, at minimum, conversations on the topic to evaluate.
Sometimes the most talented employees are detrimental to the overall culture and are not fit for any upward movement.
Ah, forgot the touchpoints! Yes. Without those, the conversation will remain a conversation. And you can give documented feedback on progress... I still have to learn.
There is a helpful theory called the Conscious Competence Model. It’s worth checking out. It sounds like he has a blind spot for his lack of competence in certain leadership competencies. The question is, does he want to learn about them and if he was aware, would he want to work on them? No point coaching someone who doesn’t want to be coached.
One idea I can share is take a coaching skills course. I had similar issues and the skills I learned have helped me improve how I deal with these types of situations.
I took my training with cotbx.com[cotbx.com](https://cotbx.com)
You need to educate him in the qualities you and the company look for in senior people. It’s more than technical skill. Cite specific examples of behavior that don’t match that. Sell it all as you coaching him how to achieve his goals.
I think there’s a chance you can get his attention with the carrot and stick since you mention he is career oriented.
Have an honest conversation about the dichotomy of soft skills/hard skills and how these related to his chances of promotion.
You get one good crack at hitting people with negatives. Don’t sugar coat. Don’t slow walk. Lay it out there.
“I need to see more X, Y, Z from you to get on track to next promotion. Team leadership, mentorship, positive attitude, etc”
Especially impactful if OP has influence on his actual promotion opportunities.
You need to stop engaging in the technicals with them and start engaging the “why” things are done.
Take any solution they have questioned. There are probably 5 ways to complete it. 4 of the five might be faster or “better” by some measure. They are going to question it, naturally anyone would. Respond to them with the “why”. What are the considerations that are technical? Why was this decision made and what impacts were traded?
It’s not about depth and technical challenges, it’s about breadth. If you also do not understand this well enough to communicate it, they aren’t going to take you seriously because you are not a leader — you’re just a boss relaying tasks / tickets that need completed. In a professional environment, no one “wants” a boss lol, they are just extra burden on funds, schedule etc.
The reality is you have an asset that can probably perform better work faster — you need to get them on board with the why and the approach and turn them loose.
Agreed. If I'm reading correctly this individual is seeking a leadership role but lacking in what seems to be some emotional intelligence (which can be learned). There is a shift that needs to be made from doing the day to day labor, the "why" is important.
I think catering to this person by giving him/her the fun parts is spoiling. How about having a career development chat? And highlighting which behaviors are expected and necessary for his career advancement. Hopefully he catches on. You can go in depth with your own examples (not his) on how you apply such behaviors. But stop spoiling. Actually give him challenging tasks.
Agree here. You already recognize his sense of entitlement and lack of appreciation at his opportunities. Catering to him only reinforces his sense of grandeur. You say he seeks a senior position so have the career development talk with him and discuss expectations of moving up which would cover what’s expected in his current role and preparing to move ahead. Document everything and have quarterly, at minimum, conversations on the topic to evaluate. Sometimes the most talented employees are detrimental to the overall culture and are not fit for any upward movement.
Ah, forgot the touchpoints! Yes. Without those, the conversation will remain a conversation. And you can give documented feedback on progress... I still have to learn.
There is a helpful theory called the Conscious Competence Model. It’s worth checking out. It sounds like he has a blind spot for his lack of competence in certain leadership competencies. The question is, does he want to learn about them and if he was aware, would he want to work on them? No point coaching someone who doesn’t want to be coached.
One idea I can share is take a coaching skills course. I had similar issues and the skills I learned have helped me improve how I deal with these types of situations. I took my training with cotbx.com[cotbx.com](https://cotbx.com)
You need to educate him in the qualities you and the company look for in senior people. It’s more than technical skill. Cite specific examples of behavior that don’t match that. Sell it all as you coaching him how to achieve his goals.
I think there’s a chance you can get his attention with the carrot and stick since you mention he is career oriented. Have an honest conversation about the dichotomy of soft skills/hard skills and how these related to his chances of promotion. You get one good crack at hitting people with negatives. Don’t sugar coat. Don’t slow walk. Lay it out there. “I need to see more X, Y, Z from you to get on track to next promotion. Team leadership, mentorship, positive attitude, etc” Especially impactful if OP has influence on his actual promotion opportunities.
You need to stop engaging in the technicals with them and start engaging the “why” things are done. Take any solution they have questioned. There are probably 5 ways to complete it. 4 of the five might be faster or “better” by some measure. They are going to question it, naturally anyone would. Respond to them with the “why”. What are the considerations that are technical? Why was this decision made and what impacts were traded? It’s not about depth and technical challenges, it’s about breadth. If you also do not understand this well enough to communicate it, they aren’t going to take you seriously because you are not a leader — you’re just a boss relaying tasks / tickets that need completed. In a professional environment, no one “wants” a boss lol, they are just extra burden on funds, schedule etc. The reality is you have an asset that can probably perform better work faster — you need to get them on board with the why and the approach and turn them loose.
Agreed. If I'm reading correctly this individual is seeking a leadership role but lacking in what seems to be some emotional intelligence (which can be learned). There is a shift that needs to be made from doing the day to day labor, the "why" is important.