Your manager announces a decision that leaves you speechless: a complete reorganization of the department and the discontinuation of a project you and your team have been working on for months.

You don't agree with this imposed decision, which you feel is counter-productive.

How should you react and what posture should you adopt with your team?

You are a manager and, for several months, you've been dealing with a rather tense dynamic within your team, largely because of Henri, who is very technically competent, but who systematically questions decisions, the tools used, projects, and even... colleagues!

His behavior annoys some members of the team, and discourages others who have confided in you that they no longer want to speak in meetings because Henri "takes everything apart."

In short, you need to take action.

How to manage a colleague who constantly criticizes everything?

For several months now, you've been helping William to improve the quality of his work. He's determined and makes every effort to improve. But to no avail. William doesn't achieve the objectives set for him. The people working with him are constantly compensating. You see no improvement.

You've made up your mind: the best solution for everyone is for William to leave the team.

How to proceed?

As part of your team, Hermione is always ready to take on new subjects and is fully committed to everything she does. The ideal team member? Yes, so what's the problem?

Hermione hates routine and boredom. She's constantly asking you to come up with new topics. As a result, you don't always give as much time to the rest of the team, who reproach you for it and are jealous of their colleague's "privileged" status.

How to reconcile Hermione's expectations with those of the rest of the team?

The annual appraisal period is approaching, and you can feel the stress building up... This year (again), the envelope of increases and bonuses to be distributed is limited.

You anticipate that Jérémy will ask you for a raise well above what you would consider consistent with his current level of performance. Spoiler alert: he'll think it's unfair if his request is turned down!

On the other hand, it would be nice to see the progress Nadia has made this year, who never asks for anything...

How do you manage these compensation discussions?

Bertrand in your team is going through a difficult period. Someone close to him is suffering from a serious illness that requires heavy treatment and frequent hospital visits. You've noticed that Bertrand seems preoccupied. Last week, he informed you of the situation and of his wish to have time to be with his loved ones.

How can you best support Bertrand while remaining in your role as manager?

In your team, Romuald is driving you crazy. You assign him a task? He doesn't do it, claims he doesn't have time, or even dares to assert that you never even asked him to do it. When he makes a mistake, there's no self-reflection: it's ALWAYS someone else's fault (often yours because you "poorly explained" it to him at the beginning)

How do you react to (so much) bad faith?

Summer is approaching, and your entire team has arranged to take their summer vacations between July and August, a slow period in your business. The entire team? Not quite! Jean-Patrick works all summer and wants to take a month-long vacation... between September and October. The busiest period for your team. 😟

How should you react?

For several years, remote work has become widespread in your team. Now, a colleague announces their move to the other side of the country. This choice is theirs. However, it comes with questions (and requests): reimbursement of transportation costs, adjusted working hours, additional remote work days...

How should you react?

Every day, one hybrid meeting follows another, and it's not all smooth sailing: cameras switched off remotely, no reaction when you ask a question, the sound of the jackhammer at Jean-Patrick's, parallel conversations in the meeting room, the curious impression that everyone is doing something else...

What to do?

In your team, Carlos poses a few problems. He's very competent, a real ace in his field! Carlos denigrates the work of others, makes scathing remarks, when he's not simply snubbing his colleagues. No one can stand him anymore.

What to do?

My team is underwater, and has been for some time. We're working hard, but between the daily grind and the new projects coming in, we're falling behind and can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. What's more, we can't recruit in the short term...

What to do?

You're a manager and you're a bit overwhelmed by the emotional pressure cooker that is your team. You have trouble understanding why Elsa gets so angry all the time and Arnaud complains so often... 🤯

How do you deal with the negative emotions of others?

In your team, everyone practices "hybrid" work. Between remote work, vacation days, training, absences... the moments when the whole team is in the office at the same time have become very rare. And it seems difficult to effectively manage your team: circulating information, ensuring the workload is properly distributed, making sure everyone feels good, etc.

You didn't sign up for this when you took the job? You'll have to get used to it, because hybrid work is here to stay...

How do you effectively manage a hybrid team?

The mood in your team is gloomy, and morale is at an all-time low. Of course, the current climate isn't helping: budget cuts, reorganizations, uncertainty about the future... And yet, the team has a lot of work to do and objectives to achieve.

What levers can you activate as a manager?

Every week, you have a meeting with Jean-Michel, your manager. One thing is certain: you won't receive any positive feedback. It almost seems like his thing is to always find THE detail, sometimes (read: often) insignificant, to criticize your work.

How do you deal with a manager who only points out the negative?

You've noticed that Christophe, a member of your team, has been particularly engaged lately. That’s odd, since he's been rather freewheeling over the last few months…

Do you get it? That's right! It's performance review time! And Christophe is keen to make up for his dilettantism of the past few weeks.

As a manager, how can you prepare for a fact-based performance assessment?

You're about to become the manager of a new team. You're very excited about this new challenge, but you feel a bit stressed as the start date approaches and you prepare to meet your future team.

How can you effectively take charge of your new team as a manager without becoming a control freak or too permissive?

In your team, two individuals are clearly not meeting your expectations. William is very willing, that's for sure. But the quality of his work is honestly not up to par. 😱 Kate, on the other hand, does good work... well, when she decides to get started!

How do you manage underperformance?

In your team, you have what we call an "original": Jean-Patrick. He stands out with his floral shirts and flip-flops in summer, and his brightly-colored Christmas sweaters in winter... 🤡

So far, you've said nothing about his attire because, in your opinion, everyone dresses as they please. The problem? You've had remarks on the subject from a few customers and your new manager.

Should you do something about it? If so, how?