If you happened to watch the FIFA World Cup final last Monday morning (Australian time), or you’ve spent any time on social media this week, you’ll probably know there’s been plenty of discussion about the behaviour of some of the Argentinian players.

If you missed it, here’s what happened.

Argentina lost the final 1-0 to Spain. After the final whistle, emotions boiled over. Some Argentinian players confronted Spanish players on the field, while others turned their backs during Spain’s trophy presentation instead of acknowledging the winners.

Watching it all unfold got me thinking about leadership. Because while the setting might be different, the behaviour isn’t. If you haven’t already, chances are you’ll come across someone like this at some point in your leadership journey.

You know the person. The one who struggles when things don’t go their way. Their idea isn’t chosen, someone else gets the promotion, they miss out on a project, or a decision is made that they don’t agree with. Instead of accepting the outcome and finding a way forward, they withdraw, become defensive, complain or undermine the decision… and sometimes you.

Which I’m sure you’d agree is super frustrating and draining of your time and energy.

Not to mention the ripple effect it has on the rest of the team.

If you’ve led people for any length of time, you’ve probably seen the ripple effect this can have on a team. Research by Christine Porath and Christine Pearson discovered that negative and uncivil behaviour doesn’t just affect the people directly involved. It also reduces effort, performance and commitment across the wider team.

So, what do you do?

Here are three things I’d suggest:

1. Address it early. Don’t hope it will go away. Describe the behaviour you’ve observed and explain the impact it’s having on the team.

2. Get curious before you judge. Seek to understand what’s driving the behaviour. Is it disappointment, insecurity, feeling overlooked, or something else? Curiosity doesn’t excuse the behaviour, but it helps you respond more effectively.

3. Reset expectations. Be clear about what you expect from this point on. It’s okay to be disappointed. It’s not okay for that disappointment to negatively affect the team.

Difficult behaviours rarely change on their own. If you have someone in your team whose behaviour is negatively affecting you and others, don’t ignore it.

It might be an uncomfortable conversation, but I can almost guarantee the rest of your team will be thankful you had it. More importantly, you’ll be creating the kind of team and culture you can all be proud of.

Here’s hoping the coach of Argentina saw it as a leadership moment and had an honest conversation with some of his players.

Until next week, lead well and be well.

Kylie