Dear ladies - I just took over a new role and inherited a team. I had a first 1-1 with one of my DRs .this was supposed to be an intro call with a brief sync up on a task they GM were assigned. The meeting turned out to be extremely weird. This new DR came across quite crazy - they would not let me speak at all and came across as extremely distressed and upset .. for no apparent reason..

I would work with HR and document this and try and get rid of them. No use ignoring and putting up. No good can come from that. Sorry you had this experience.

Give them an honest task suitable for their title and if they can’t do it. Use it to make the change.

If they really are cray cray and not performing then unfortunately expect to let them go soon. Use being new to your advantage something like: its a fresh start for all of us let's outline what great performance looks like in this role together.

Use this to hopefully alleviate their concerns, redirect and help them prioritize in their role. "If we stick to this plan we can all be successful."

Now manager hat-- this is the guiding document that will help you if they indeed are crazy and bad for the team and will need to let them go. If they don't hit the metrics outline then it's your grounds to say "hey we made a plan together and you didnt perform."

Lead with empathy and compassion. Clearly this person is spiraling and needs help. Calling you "fake" has me perplexed. Do they know you? It sounds like this was an internal move - is it possible you have a reputation? Does the company have a pattern of changing leadership with layoffs following shortly thereafter?

I could see this being one of my coworkers - zero direction from day 1, 5 different managers and 3 reorgs, multiple layoffs with seemingly no rhyme or reason as to who was chosen, added with an already volatile and entitled personality.

Your predecessor's remark also has me perplexed. This person doesn't sound like they don't want to work (if it was my coworker, she didn't want to perform the new role after one bumpy reorg as she felt it was beneath her and a demotion). I'd look at performance reviews and see if you can read between the lines here.

I suspect you have entered the perfect storm created by your company's culture where everyone is kept off kilter by chaos and uncertainty. With a new team lead in place, your dr became unhinged out of sheer panic.

I'd schedule a meeting with this person and HR to discuss her issues. HR will serve to diffuse the panicked energy, so long as the meeting is framed in such a way that the dr feels validated and that you want to address their concerns. If they feel ganged up on, it will be an excercise in futility.

Personally, I'd give them grace *this time*. She's obviously acting out of intense fear and you have no idea if it's completely unfounded (and it sounds like your predecessor*was* trying to get rid of her, so not outlandishly irrational). Or you could just fire them for having a mental breakdown 🤷🏼‍♀️

Agree with the advice above; one more thing to consider - could you discretely gather some feedback about this person from colleagues who closely worked with them previously? Would be good to understand if such odd behavior is indeed a norm for them, or something changed recently that is making them explode

I have had one of these scenarios.

I would have a conversation about what you observed with HR. DR said they were afraid, restated themselves 4x, body was shaking, etc. don’t interpret what you saw. Just state facts. Then ask HR on best ways to approach moving forward.

Leave out the adjectives like crazy or unhinged or even volatile when it is directed at the person. You can say, if true - concerned for my safety, concerned for their safety. If there are any concerns about safety and you are both in the same building… this does need to be addressed.

Do keep a log of facts in a safe place. And keep a paper trail of all conversations that you had with HR and with the person.

In terms of next steps while you are working with HR, it might be helpful to send an email. “Thank you for speaking with me today. Based on our conversation, I heard you had the following concerns. (List them) I would like to set up a following conversation about these concerns later this week or next week when we both have had a time to reflect on this information.

After that call, I would also like to set up another call to talk specifically about your role and l expect this role to be able to do. (Based on my limited knowledge of being in my role for 2 days)

After the email follow up with the two meetings. When the meetings start, lay some ground rules. I always tell my folks, I have 2 rules - don’t be rude and participate. This means if the meeting starts to get heated or it appears that folks are not listening to each other, we will end the meeting early and regroup at a later date.

I’m hoping that this was just a really bad day for your DR and you happened to be the human on the receiving end.

They kept saying they are anxious , that my predecessor didn’t tell them what their role was supposed to be and that they think the company is trying to fire them. My attempts at trying to calm them down didn’t work either. They started yelling that they think I am fake … and more. I was shocked because I wasn’t expecting any such thing… the call lasted an hour and while I tried to comfort them , understand their issue , I don’t think this person was in a mental space to listen… I couldn’t even get 2-3 lines during the full hour. I Spoke to my predecessor after this experience and they relayed that this person has been non performing and also unwilling to work. To me this individual came across as so emotionally volatile that I don’t think this is a workable situation. However I work in an extremely political environment and need to handle this with care. Any suggestions on how to handle this ?

looks like they might have anxiety and need medical help.
do they have insurance to see a psychiatrist and psychologist.

Anxiety is not a big thing, this person with the right treatment can be back to normal in a couple of months.

My first question is what documentation were you given by the previous manager on any of your direct reports? If you were given none that is a huge red flag. Because now you have to start over.
You stated you spoke to their previous manager or their predecessor? Where is the documentation on them because if that person did not do any documentation another big red flag.

If there is no documentation you’re going to have to start over and I would let HR know that as well, in conjunction to your direct manager. That puts all the work on you. Good luck.

I have had to do this myself, not for the same reasons that you are, but meaning, no documentation and having to start over the process. This was for an employee who was out of FMLA, over 1000 hours, and was still not at work. Eventually termination was done, but again I had to start the whole process over. Lots of wasted time.

If the person is unable to perform their role due to mental health concerns or issues, they should be encouraged to avail themselves of available medical leave and/or disability benefits.

I have involved with two situations (and know of a third) where this occurred; in the first person came back to their role and was able to perform to their original capacity, in the other two the people completed their disability leave and resigned.

But clearly the status quo is not tenable and doesn’t work for employer or employee.

Curious how this has gotten on. Any updates?