This employee cannot talk comfortably with you. Perhaps the employee cannot maintain eye contact or may simply get nervous or avoid you. These are just some of the clues that an employee is very shy around you because you supervise or manage him or her. Some employees are very comfortable around peers but suddenly become shy around superiors. Often this is rooted in an upbringing that stressed respect for, or even fear of, authority. A little of this respect is a good thing. Too much blocks healthy communication between manager and employee. The following interventions will open up those vital communication lines.

Interventions
• Be creative in giving the shy employee more control. Overly sensitive employees may need to feel more in control of the mode of
communication in order to handle the communication well. Do you need to communicate with the employee about something that you think he may be overly sensitive about? Ask him if he wants to choose a different location for the talk. If you usually meet in your office, would he prefer to walk to the cafeteria with you and have coffee? After you discuss the issue, would he like the option of responding by email and agreeing to discuss the email with you at a later time? Offering to put the employee in his comfort zone goes a long way toward calming some very sensitive people.

• Ask the employee to tell you about the greatest relationship she
has ever had with a boss. Make mental notes as she talks about
what that boss did that made the employee open up. Summarize
the information for the employee: “So you liked Don Watson’s way of talking about projects to you ahead of time and allowing you to brainstorm before you had to offer an opinion. I would like to try doing that more. In addition to that, what else can I do to improve your comfort level when you are communicating with me?” In time, your sincere attempt to work through this shyness problem should work. If it doesn’t, consider that the shyness may be an avoidance technique. In that case, see Chapters 11, 15, and 16.

Taken From: 201 Ways to Turn Any Employee Into a STAR Performer