What can you do when teachers undermine your leadership efforts and threaten your school's reform efforts?

School leaders face many challenges in implementing change. Chief among these challenges is preserving a positive climate when one or several teachers are resistant or difficult. For a school to move forward, the leader must attend to day-to-day school climate and school culture. 1  A teacher who resists change—sometimes covertly—or who is just plain hard to work with can inject negativity into that culture. A few such teachers can derail change.

Most schools have a staff member or two (no more, we hope) who stand out for their negative attitudes. Allowed to fester, that attitude could infect other members of the team and eventually an entire school community. Included: Members of our Principal Files team share how they deal with staff members who spread negativity.

Negative people are like human black holes that suck the life out of you. So what can you do with these energy vampires in your life? 

A positive school culture starts at the top -- with the principal. But even the most upbeat principal knows that pockets of negativity can surface and spread, sometimes slowly and quietly and other times like wildfire. That's why wise principals always keep their radar tuned, watching for signs of discontent.

Turning Negatives

Into Positives

“Negative people will always be around,” “When there is a negative staff member, one thing that you can do is to have him or her spearhead an initiative. Let that person be in charge of an activity, and that will usually stop them from being the negative one.”

Leaders need to swiftly identify any teachers they work with who fit one of these patterns and deal with accompanying negative behaviors. Here we focus on two types: underminers and on-the-job retirees.

The Underminer: Toxic to Climate and Reform

An underminer works behind the scenes to weaken your leadership by fabricating or exaggerating negative aspects about you or the change you are implementing. Other teachers, especially those lacking a clear understanding of the issue or the strength to resist, may be easily convinced to join the negative conversation. A group of covert resisters may develop. The situation can quickly get out of control. Whether other teachers alert you or you notice signs that a staff member is an underminer, act quickly to minimize the damage. Covert agitating can poison school climate and make reform impossible.

How to Deal with Negative Teachers

Don't let the negativity from other teachers impact you and spread into your classroom

Dealing with negative teachers in the workplace can be difficult and frustrating. When things become toxic, it's far too easy to get sucked into the negativity. Dealing with teachers who are having an "off day" is one thing, but knowing the steps to avoid true "Negative Nancys" altogether can be difficult.

Here are five ways to deal with negative teachers.

1. Address the Behavior with the Teacher

If you find yourself getting pulled into the negativity at school, remember that it's normal to have negative thoughts. However, the way you deal with or express these thoughts can greatly impact your mood.

If you find you have a colleague who's relentlessly negative, the best solution may be to address their negative behavior with them. In fact, consider speaking to them with a group of colleagues who share the same positive attitude as you. Let the teacher know how you feel about their negativity, and offer support and solutions to overcome their negative behavior.

Showing negative teachers that you respect their differences and offering insight into the situation may help alleviate the negativity within an organization.

Underminers may actively work to slow or stop a change or intervention, such as by complaining to school board members, recruiting others to resist or complain, or half-heartedly implementing the change and then saying "I told you this wouldn't work." This kind of difficult teacher can obviously lessen others' commitment to your change initiatives—or to you. An underminer can equally damage school climate and culture by

• Encouraging staff members to form factions based on their support—or lack of support—for your leadership.
• Turning cognitive conflict (productive debates related to substance) into affective conflict (negative debates related to personalities). Affective conflict is destructive to a sound school culture.
• Confronting others, putting them on the defensive, and turning the workplace into a hostile environment.

Confront, Listen, and Create a Plan

When you realize a teacher is undermining you, meet privately with the underminer to openly discuss this behavior and find out what the teacher's issues are. We recommend developing a script for what you will say in the meeting; a script will keep you on track and better able to deal with the emotions that may come up. If a group has coalesced, you'll need to decide whether to meet with just the "leader" or with all the underminers. If the group seems to gain power in numbers, divide and conquer. On the other hand, if you think the first one you talk with will warn (and possibly energize) the others, meet with all the grumblers at once.

2. Get Administration Involved

Teachers have the ability to greatly impact the culture of a school, and our attitudes can help or hurt student motivation, achievement, and well-being. If a teacher's negative behavior has progressed to negatively impacting the students, it's time to get administrators involved. They can step in and mediate, depending on the situation. This tactic is best used after you've already spoken to your colleague about their behavior and haven't seen any improvements.

3. Learn to Properly Express Your Own Feelings

Everyone experiences negative thoughts and emotions. But it can be far too easy to let bad vibes overstay their welcome when surrounded by a group of negative teachers. While it's important to build professional relationships with colleagues, keep in mind that there's absolutely a right way to blow off steam.

In addition to being unconstructive, airing your work-related grievances at school can make the problem worse if the source of your frustrations finds out what you've been saying. It's better to find appropriate outlets for your feelings than get caught in the trap of workplace negativity.

4. Remove Yourself from the Situation

One of the easiest and most effective ways to deal with negative teachers is removing yourself from the situation. In my experience, the teacher's lounge is one of the main areas where negativity can build and disrupt workplace dynamics. I've been in situations where I chose to eat in my classroom because the teacher's lounge was too toxic for my liking.

Although you might feel like you're isolating yourself by staying away from certain teachers, it's important to know what's best for you and your students. After all, students pick up on your behavior, and if you've been exposed to or engaged in negativity, it can affect their behavior and learning.

5. Don't Let Go of Your Own Positivity

Teaching isn't easy—it's very normal to feel overwhelmed, frustrated, or upset. But how we handle our emotions can greatly impact our teaching, our relationships, and ultimately our students. It's a necessary skill to be able to shift any negative thoughts into positive ones. This may be easier said than done, but these three tactics are a start.

• Surround yourself with positive people, both in and outside of school.
• Find a creative outlet that helps you relieve stress and feel rejuvenated.
• Maintain a positive mind-set by learning to turn your negative thoughts into positive ones. Positive thoughts increase your mood, improve your thinking, and help you and your colleagues have a more positive workplace environment.

Instead of being a "Negative Nancy," be a "Positive Penelope." Focus on the positive, and be the best teacher you can be. The effects will be evident not only in the classroom, but in every aspect of your life.

Dealing With Difficult Teachers provides tips and strategies to help school leaders improve, neutralize, or eliminate resistant and negative teachers who

--- gossip in the teacher's lounge;

--- consistently say it won't work when any new idea is suggested;

--- send an excessive number of students to your office for disciplinary reasons;

--- undermine your efforts toward school improvement; and

--- negatively influence other staff members.

Additional Strategies

Not all underminers can be disarmed by respectful confrontation. The following actions may also help principals deal with teachers like Gloria:

• Assess your leadership style to make sure you are providing positive, proactive ways for teachers to share concerns. Underminers may develop as a result of unnecessarily controlling, autocratic leadership, which gives few opportunities to positively resolve issues. Even if your style is more open, if you're new, teachers may go underground with their negativity because their past leader was autocratic.
• Develop an open communication channel to ensure that any potential underminer informs you—rather than others—about his or her concerns, no matter how unpleasant or trivial.
• Be open and receptive when faculty members share concerns with you. If you let people know you're really interested in listening to their complaints or worries and using their perspective to guide change, they'll be more willing to share with you. Use open-ended or probing questions to gain more details. Use reflecting skills to better understand the teacher's perspective.
• Put in place positive processes to hear and evaluate your faculty's concerns as you implement any change or initiative. For example, you might regularly conduct a pro-con conversation among teachers, guiding them to identify the specifics of any new strategy you're considering, including what the school might need to do to overcome challenges the strategy will present. Put a "Concerns-Based Suggestion Box" in the teacher work room, or periodically meet with staff members individually to explore their ideas and concerns.
• Set productive ground rules for staff behavior, such as allowing one party to complete his or her side of the story before you rebut; being ready to talk about both the positives and the challenges associated with new ideas; and keeping the discussion focused on the topic, not the person.

The On-the-Job Retiree

The on-the-job retiree is a true challenge. Because he or she is retiring at the end of the year, the on-the-job-retiree reasons, it's acceptable to coast for the remainder of the time. Such an attitude isn't restricted to senior staff members. We have worked with people in early- or mid-career stages who exhibit characteristics of on-the-job retirees. Behavior, rather than age, is the hallmark of these resisters. Look for the following characteristics:

• The teacher openly states that he or she is leaving at the end of the year and has decided to "coast out" this time. The teacher may brag about the fact that nobody can make him or her do anything. You may notice that he or she is doing the bare minimum in daily work.
• The educator shows a diminished level of motivation and work ethic. You may notice that youbegin to feel negative or even slightly depressed as you interact with this teacher. People who have shut down can project negativity.
• The teacher seeks the support and empathy of coworkers, as he or she tries to slack off, possibly striving to make others feel sorry for him or her.

On-the-job retirees have a negative effect on the day-to-day climate of a school and eventually will weaken its culture. Part of this damage can come from the model they provide for less experienced colleagues by setting the tone that it's OK for anyone to shut down in relation to their commitments at the school. This tone can be contagious.

A charismatic coaster can become a "cult figure" or gain prestige because he or she openly defies the organization. Some teachers may look up to the person and even reinforce these negative behaviors. Cliques may form around those who admire the premature retiree and those who don't. People may feel forced to take sides in relation to their actions and behaviors.

Appeal to Their "Legacy"

When you hear an employee has declared him- or herself "retired" before the end of the year, you'll need to respond quickly to this posture—and a frank conversation is often the first thing to try. For instance, Julie, an elementary principal at a school we'll call Barton Elementary, heard from key staff members that a teacher named Stan was planning to retire at the end of the year. Stan had also announced he wouldn't participate in the professional learning community (PLC) to which he'd been assigned. Julie considered the PLCs to be an important part of supporting Barton Elementary's teachers as they learned to implement student assessments. If Stan were allowed to opt out of these activities, it would send a message to others that the learning communities' work was not important.

Not every teacher can be motivated by an appeal to his or her best self or future legacy. Here are other ways to deal with on-the-job retirees:

• Give the employee an important task or job that uses his or her particular skills or passions. Or give the teacher a choice between several tasks.
• Use peer pressure to engage the employee. Develop team projects that need everyone's effort or attend meetings of the professional learning community this educator belongs to and ask questions designed to get him or her involved.
• Offer a trade-off; get the employee to agree to continue to engage with efforts toward reform in exchange for a reduction of some other responsibility that it may be fine to take a break from (such as bus duty). Add a responsibility that requires a similar time commitment but would interest the teacher more.
• Develop a growth plan. Because the on-the-job retiree may feel that you, as a supervisor, cannot do anything to apply consequences, move cautiously as you develop this growth plan. Keep it focused on building up the positive aspects of the employee rather than making it a punitive, experience.
• Pair the on-the-job retiree with a younger teacher, sharing with each what you want them to gain from the relationship. For example, tell a younger teacher that you want him to gain from the content knowledge of the more senior teacher, and tell the older teacher you want him to gain new presentation ideas from the younger one. Think through how to present the arrangement so no party feels negative about it.
• Work with the employee to develop a private succession plan. If you help the on-the-job retiree feel like a valued leader whom you and the school will miss, you'll motivate the potential coaster to want to pass the torch.

Be careful to communicate that you care while helping the teacher stay responsible. Never say that you want the resister to resign (although deep down you might like this to happen). Making people feel pushed out sets the stage for an age-related discrimination lawsuit. Show that you want to help someone like Stan stay productive. Focus on supporting the teacher as long as she or he meets reasonable expectations.

Working with difficult and resistant staff members is unavoidable if you want to make long-lasting school changes. In the end, the labor it takes to successfully deal with resisters will pay off—in accomplishing your goals and attaining a positive working culture.

Endnotes

  We consider school climate to be the day-to-day working atmosphere in a school; school culture is the permanent structures, beliefs, and practices that anchor that school.

“It is critical to build trust, understanding, and support with allteachers, students, parents, and community stakeholders. When you can achieve that, you can develop a school culture of we, us, and our where people become positive change agents, accepting ownership and responsibility for student success."

     --- Frank Hagen