Disruptions in life are aplenty. But at the workplace, they can be a nuisance. Most people are annoyed by disruptive behavior at the workplace, and many are angered by it. Regardless, one thing is for sure that it derails the meeting from its agenda and shifts focus towards unnecessary things. Everyone is guilty of having exhibited such behavior at least once during their professional career. However, if you have a team member who is a constant disrupter, then you have a serious problem at hand and you might need to take one or more of these steps to change things at the next meeting.

The ‘firm, but friendly’ approach

As the team leader, you need to assert your position with the troublemaker once and for all. However, logic dictates that you do not bow down to tactics that mirror their behavior and demonstrate an evolved approach. Point out the disruptive behavior without calling names or labeling the person. Most often, such people are totally unaware of their negative behavior in a group, and need to be dealt with a focused approach. Let them know when you are getting distracted by their behavior. Ask them if they have to attend to an emergency and if you can help them in any way. If that’s not the case, then they need to know that their antics have to wait till after the meeting is over.

Invoke the group

You are not alone in a team meeting, so invoke the group by eliciting participation by other members. This will ensure that the disruption is censured by the entire group and will discourage the oddball colleague from deviating from the group’s behavioral standards.

Non-verbal cues

Sometimes, all you need to do is indicate your displeasure with your body language and non-verbal cues. Stop mid sentence, or nod your head to let them know you are not amused by their behavior in the meeting room.

Acknowledge positive behavior

The universal truth is that disruptive behavior is most often a conscious or unconscious bid for attention. And the best way to counter it effectively is to focus on the positive behavior and reinforce it with active acknowledgement.

When all else fails

When you have exhausted your arsenal of techniques to dampen disruptive behavior, all that is left for you to do is have a face-to-face private meeting with the team member in question. Be very clear, firm and diplomatic in airing your concerns about the constant disruptions being brought about by them in the meeting room. Listen to their concerns very carefully, but in the end, do let them know that your word is final on the matter and they need to change their behavior immediately.

In your professional career, getting along with people is one of the key skills for your success. It takes time to develop and requires every ounce of patience, experience and a sense of humor from you. Just because some colleagues make you wish you had amnesia doesn’t mean that you can avoid them. And if you believe things will change if you change your job, you’re probably in for a lot of disappointment because such people are everywhere. So what you have to do is to train yourself like a soldier to handle such oddball colleagues whom you work with and make sure that they are never an impediment to your success.