subject: Employee from Hell #7: The Excuse Master [print this page] It takes time to change the Excuse Master's behavior, but it can be done. The strategy is to bring his behavior to his attention - every time - and to encourage him to reframe his behavior. Here are a couple of examples from Winning with the Employee from Hell a guide to coaching & motivation:
Example #1
Supervisor: "Jane, I'd like you to try and resolve some more of these customer complaints without escalating them to a supervisor."
Jane: "Yabut, they ask for a supervisor, what am I supposed to do?"
Supervisor: "There's another one of those Yabuts again! I think maybe what you meant to say was, 'OK, do you have any suggestions as to what I can do that might work better?'"
Example #2
Boss: "Sandy, it looks like I'm going to need those reports on Thursday instead of Friday as I originally thought."
Sandy: "Yabut, I'm already in the middle of three other projects! I can't just drop everything."
Boss: "There's one of those Yabuts again. Try this: 'OK Boss. I do have some other projects on the go, which ones should take priority?'"
It takes a while, but eventually your message will get through.
