We are getting well into our series about some typical problem profiles you will see from time to time. Last month, we talked about “Mr. Impulsive,” the person who just cannot seem to stop to think things through. This month, I’d like to focus on something completely different: the Emotional Time Bomb (Mr. ETB, for short.) As always, we’ll look first at what “red flags” to look for in the Performance Profile Report and in the interview, and then we’ll look at how to deal with this person as an applicant and as an employee.

 

Mr. ETB is the guy who works for you for a period of months with no indication of a problem, and then walks into your office one day and declares, “That’s it! I can’t take this anymore. I quit!” And you didn’t even know there was a problem. 

 

 

The Performance Profile Report will alert you to the possibility that you have met a Mr. ETB. You may be looking at Mr. ETB if the rating on the “Emotions and Moods” characteristic is 3 or lower, the rating on the “Objectivity” characteristic is 3 or lower, and the rating on the “Impulse Control” characteristic is “7” or higher.

 

 

A low rating on the “Objectivity” characteristic means that the person tends to get his feelings hurt easily – that is, he is sensitive and hyper-aware of how people say things, and he is prone to take any criticism of his work, his office space, or his appearance as a personal attack. This person has great difficulty separating the useful information in criticism from his emotional reaction to it. He does not take “teasing” well.

 

A low Rating on the “Emotional Control” characteristic means that the person tends to get stuck in emotional reactions to events outside himself; when he gets his feelings hurt, he is unlikely to recover quickly. He may nurse his hurt feelings for days or even longer. 

 

Now, let’s add to that the effect of high “Impulse Control.” This is the part that adds the “ticking” to Mr. ETB’s emotional time bomb. A high rating on “Impulse Control” indicates a person who is very restrained about expressing feelings and opinions. Mr. ETB will work at keeping all of his emotional reactions to himself, showing the world a cheerful, or at least noncommittal, face.

 

Until, that is, he just can’t take it anymore!

 

 

 

Applicants usually try to answer your interview questions in the way they think you want them answered, and a sophisticated applicant will be good at telling you what you want to hear. That’s why it is important to plan some questions, and how you will follow them up, around this area of concern: how will Mr. ETB handle conflict and dissent with his fellow employees? It’s a legitimate concern because your job is to avoid work-disrupting blow-ups or (even worse) sudden resignations, but be sure to keep your questions focused on the work place.

 

The concern Mr. ETB’s Performance Profile report has raised is how well he will deal with his tendency to let his negative emotions build up until he can no longer control them, leading to over-reaction and disruption of work. You might ask something like, “If you had a coworker who constantly irritated you, how would you handle the situation?” Or you might ask, “What have you done about a situation in a previous job where people seemed hyper-critical and nit-picky?”

 

What you want to hear is that Mr. ETB would address the situation sooner rather than later, and that he would do so in a calm and professional manner. What you would not want to hear is that he would just ignore the irritation and hope that the irritating person would go away and stop bothering him. You would want to hear that he found a way to deal with his feelings, rather than allowing others’ words to get “under his skin.”

 

 

If there is a string of short-tenured jobs in Mr. ETB’s work history, be sure to probe during the interview to find the reasons. Short tenure might be due to trouble controlling his emotional reactions at work, and a consistent pattern of such trouble could be a sign of short tenure if he is hired.

 

 

Try to reach a previous supervisor or co-worker, and ask questions about how he got along with co-workers and subordinates. Did he work out differences of opinion in a timely and professional way? Did people know where he stood on matters of importance to the company? Listen to the answers you get, and don’t try to fill in all the quiet space in your reference telephone call. As much as possible, let the other person talk.

 

 

Is Mr. ETB a highly desirable applicant because of his hard-to-come-by job knowledge, experience, or skills? You may decide that you simply have to learn to live with his particular personality because he is bringing something valuable to your company. In that case, forewarned is forearmed. Do some planning ahead of time to minimize the effect of Mr. ETB’s tendency to react unpredictably and emotionally to situations.

 

A critical factor for Mr. ETB’s successful transition from applicant to long-term incumbent is how well he gets along with his new supervisor. If the chemistry between them is good, that bodes well; if it is not, there are going to be problems.

 

Mr. ETB will probably have difficulty working with someone who is demanding, tactless, direct to the point of abruptness, or who seems arrogant and condescending when he barks orders at subordinates. I’m just describing him from Mr. ETB’s point of view, of course; few people set out to be this way, but what some folks consider “straightforward and no-nonsense” will strike Mr. ETB as arrogant and abrupt.

 

 

More so than others, Mr. ETB will be a high maintenance employee, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a valuable employee. Again, remember that forewarned is forearmed, and that goes for Mr. ETB himself.

 

Give him his Professional Development Guide (PDG) at the beginning of his employment tenure, and go over it with him. Remember, of course, that he is wired up to be very defensive about any comments that seem critical, and that will include the PDG.

 

Remind him that the PDG is based on what he said about himself, and that the results are suggestions based on how similar his answers were to answers made by people who tend to be sensitive to criticism. Suggest that he show the PDG to people who know him well, especially the part with which he disagrees, to see what they say about it. The feedback he receives from people who know him well will be more credible because of their personal knowledge of him.

 

Review Mr. ETB’s Performance Profile Report with the person to whom he will report. Emphasize the value that he brings to the organization because of his relevant knowledge, skills, or experience, and talk about the importance of using tact and diplomacy. After all, handling all co-workers with tact and diplomacy, and without teasing, is a worthwhile goal for all work relationships!

 

Finally, help Mr. ETB find a mentor within your company to whom he can turn to “let off steam,” and who understands the importance of re-directing Mr. ETB’s thinking about criticism or perceived slights. This mentor needs to be aware that Mr. ETB needs coaching in how to find appropriate ways to vent his frustration or irritation before it builds up so much that he cannot manage it.