How to effectively work with the 6 types of difficult learners: The “Yes” Person

Have you ever had the "yes" person on your team.... ugh. How do you manage someone who is always saying yes...

At first glance, having a “yes” person on your team may seem like a good thing. And while a go-getter is certainly a great person to have around, the “yes” person comes with a catch.

They never follow through.

This person will agree to everything, yet seldom deliver. You can’t trust that they will come through on their responsibilities and when they don’t, the rest of the team is left dissatisfied and having to pick up the slack.

This hurts team collaboration and engagement.

So as a manager, what can you do?

Try doing these to effectively work with this type of difficult learner:

• Check in with them often

• Establish a follow-up plan with clear milestones

• Set rewards

• Gamify the work process

• Talk honestly about outcomes

The “yes” person might struggle to share when they feel like they can’t do something, which leads to them agreeing to things that they don’t come through on. To help with this, make sure you have created a safe space for them to say “no”.

Have you had a “yes” person on your team? How did you work with this difficult type of learner?

Keep an eye out for my next post, where I’ll be talking about the “no” person type of difficult learners and how you can better work with them.

See you then!

Missed the previous posts? Head to my profile to see more content on how to deal with difficult learning styles.