Are You Letting a Gentle Wave Turn Into a Tsunami?

I find that when people (myself included) don't like to do something, they have a tendency to put it off.  And sometimes putting it off means you continue to put it off, and put it off, and put it off, until one day what started as a minor thing to take care of has now become this giant tsunami that you have no idea how to handle.  It's out of control and wreaking havoc on the rest of the world (or at least the department).  This is how it often goes when dealing with employee issues.  

  

We put it off in hopes it will either get better all by itself or it won't be such a problem anymore.  We put up having a five minute conversation with someone to let them know what needs to be handled differently and we wait until we can't ignore anymore due to the devastation and destruction on the rest of the team.  

I'm here to tell you, handle it now rather than later.  It's not likely to get better all by itself.  Mary isn't going to wake up one day and realize she is rude on the phone and Bill isn't going to suddenly quit wasting time.  Have the five minute conversation, set your expectations, hold them accountable and get on with your day.  I can almost guarantee the problem will only get bigger with time.