Have you ever worked with a Know It ALL!!

Working with a Know-It-All takes it's toll on the morale of the entire team! The rest of the team is left frustrated when they have to fix problems when a Know-It-All is so sure they are clever, that they will not ask or clarification or help. For the sake of the morale of your team, it is up to you to keep the peace & coach your Know-It-All! They will need some concrete examples, and plenty of follow up feedback for the know-it-all.

Basically your Know-It-All is in fear that they are not good enough, so they compensate by having a know-it-all approach & stubborn beliefs that they are correct when presented with a different point of view. One of the first questions I ask when coaching a Know-It-All is

"What would happen if you were wrong?"

The response will reveal if they worry that their team would think less of them or they would lose their job. In this moment you can provide assurances that you are not going to fire them and their coworkers like them.

Below are a couple of ways to coach a Know-It-All ~~

1. Instead of focusing on what the employee has NOT been doing well, which will likely fall on deaf ears, tell them how they can improve for the future. When you clearly define what your expectations are and how they can meet them, you can lower their fear. You have given them a road map, they just need to follow it.
2. When coaching employees who think they know everything, encourage them to work with other staff. The know-it-all needs to be able to work with both their colleagues and you as their leader. Let them know a clear path with mini goals to meet your expectations and improve. When they achieve the mini goals if will make them feel confident that they are achieving your expectations.
3. THIS IS A BIG ONE! The Know-It-All employee has to prove to everyone that they know what is happening with their know-it-all approach. The root is that they are afraid of their team realizing that they are a mediocre worker and hiding feelings of inferiority. You can lower this fear by publicly praising when they actually are correct, and privately speaking with them one-on-one when they were not correct for what your expectations are and support for how they can improve.

Please feel free to share your experiences with Know-It-Alls and how you have helped them become they fear and become a great TEAM member.