Interested to hear how everyone deals with a slow teamate. This is the guy that has no sense of urgency, has trouble writing professional documents, and has trouble communicating. You have to explain things to him a few times, and if you are lucky he will semi-understand what you want. How do you deal with him without sounding like a whiny bitch and not acting like a shady backstabber?

Hi MattFirst of all I would be perfectly up front with the guy he doesn't sound like he belongs in consulting I would first ask him why he joined, and where did he see him self going within the company get on a personal level first. I would then point out to him (in a constructive way) that he wasn't the sharpest tool in the box. You can do this by saying things like "Do you think we can build speed up on the project" and get a sense of why he doesn't move with more haste. I would then try to tell him that he isn't moving at the pace the "team" would like and ask him is there any support he needs? If he stands offish I would just say well I am trying to help you become an effective team player I'm not trying to shoot you down. If all else fails go to your line manager let them know the problems but I would always tell the guy what’s going on if you can't be direct then don't be in business this is the real world not an episode of Coronation street.

Tony - thanks for the paint by numbers example of how to behave like a d*ick. What a great example of management consulting learned from "Idiots Guides" rather than management experience or ability.Matt - behave like an adult, not a child. Focus on doing your own job properly and the issue will start to diminish by the day.

I agree with anon. You're not his line manager by any chance, are you? If so, the problem might be with you not him. I've met many line managers in the past who think of themselves as being part of the 'team' but in fact all they do is dump on the others and spend their time providing unhelpful 'feedback' (i.e. unfair personal criticism). Often, they themselves are the ones that do not respond well to feedback, and then they wonder why these people are "failing to keep up" or "have trouble communicating". Do you genuinely pull your own weight? Do you actually contribute meaningfully to documents (as opposed to commenting on trivia like grammar and layout)? Do you provide real hands-on support and demonstrate by example, or do you just keep this teammate under the microscope as your pet hobby? I'm not casting aspersions here, I'm just suggesting you might want to take a look in the mirror before reaching an unfair conclusion about him/her.

Matt,Bring up the issue with your Project Manager. Make the discussion is fact-based (rather than personal or emotional) by bringing up specific examples. I have been on both sides of the team (as an Associate with weak colleagues, and as a Proj Manager with weak Associates)...a typical engagement is stressful enough without having people slowing down the team. At the end of the day, it's up to the Proj Manager to provide coaching...and if the person is just not "working out", (after providing coaching) to boot him/her off the team. They won't last in the firm anyway and would most likely be counseled out at the next evaluation cycle.

Matt,I have to agree with Anon on this one. While its frustrating to have a team member who is slightly on the slow side, your main concern should be on doing your own job.A core element of working in a team is support and thus not looking for a way to eject a member. If this team member is an analyst, then you should be more understanding, if he's at a higher position, the project manager will pick this. Either way, the end of project review will identif the role and contribution that individual members played.Basically, if your not his direct mentor, i suggest you ask him can you help him or just do your job

What goes around comes around. There may be another time, on another project when - for whatever reason - you are not fully focused and need to look to your colleagues for support.If you stab people in the back, they often keep the knife.

Tony, what a tosser. Why not find out why he is slow. Be friendly, talk to him. Maybe his wife has left or his mother is dying.Maybe he works slow but produces good quality work, I've seen so many people rush around but produce crap.Maybe his manager stuck him on an assignment he is not suitable for just to keep him utilised.At the end of the day he may just be slow and not good at his job, just makes the rest of you look better. We all need someone who is not as good as us, someone has to be the slowest on any team, however high performing.Don't just grass him up to someone.

Simple.The word is mightier than the sword. Don't stab him in the back, just ask people's opinions of your colleague and use what they say against him by agreeing and adding.This way you haven't stabbed him, you're not risking your own position by being a trouble maker; you're just coaching other people to like him less.Sit back and chuckle as the bad feeling grows!

Too simple and too slow. For the slow of understanding the expression 'stab in the back' doesn't have to mean draw blood in consulting!Are you essentially not advising that 'stabbing them in the back' is the way forward then Dave?I take your point about levels, but the problem is that your method would eventually make you look like somebody who likes to slow up decisions and shirk your duties. Dont become a slow person! Better off evaluating whether they A. Are simply being slowed down by others (they might be very quick but have many people above them that want servicing, need help with delegation, lack access to a watch etc.)B. Be very slow (too dim for the job, not doing their bit etc)If B. you do as Beng has already suggested. If A. leave them alone - who wants to work in a culture where top people keep getting fired for the hell of it? Q a bunch of comedians.

No, I am not his line manager. In fact, I'm technically under him. He was the task lead, but got taken off and someone else was put in charge. However, the line manager has slowly made it my task to hold this guy's hand and make sure he does his work. Since we're working on the same task, he's a bottleneck for me..I do my part, then have to wait for him to finish. I don't want to be an asshole by any means, since there's too many around this industry already, but I do want to get around this problem.thanks for all the replies

Slap him, hard in the face. Seriously. Then tell him that you're doing it for his own good, explain the problem and tell him he's got to wake up and smell the coffee, use it or lose it. Tell him that this is his one chance, his opportunity to be the champ. Tell him he's a bum, a has been and a laughing stock. Set a hard physical training regime to get him in shape; running and weights, punching meat in a freezer, chasing chickens in alleys, running up steps outside civic buildings, set it all to a motivational soundtrack.......................................................................................................................................................sorry, the sleep was light and the coffee was strong!

You should take him home, make him paint your house, wax your car and jump from one leg to the other on top of a wooden pylon - whilst all the time calling him Daniel-Son in between pruning your bonsai trees.Eventually, once he has caught a fly with some chopsticks, in 2-3 weeks, he will be a Six Sigma black belt and will be ready to take on seasoned team members.

Sell him to the next travelling salesman/inventor/consultant who tries to sell you a smokeless ashtray. Ensure you tell him to never expose the slow team mate to water or feed him after midnight!

So, this slow teammate is actually your superior. Sounds like this is more of an "upward management" challenge. Welcome to the world of work - inept bosses are a fact of life. Your task is to make your boss look good, however inept or personally despicable they are.

Yeah..I'm just trying to get all the tasks completed. What I wonder now is...should I be content just to have the tasks done, or try and get credit for holdin his hand and making him do stuff. Right now it looks like I'm going to get the shaft on this one. Just wondering if anyone else has been in this "have responsibility but no credit" situation.