Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of articles that will be taking a look at challenging employees. In the coming weeks, Lynne will be covering common behavioral problems (gossiping, violence, drug use) that employees may posses and how to address these issues.

In my experience, the first thing that managers need to do in order to deal with challenging employees is to ground themselves in their own rights and responsibilities. Once you understand your rights, it's much easier to tackle the tough conversations you need to have.

Managers Have Rights and Responsibilities
Let's get one thing perfectly clear. You have a right to manage. Many managers, in today's environment, seem confused about this. They wimp out and don't fulfill their responsibilities to the company and to their employees.

Challenging employees are not children, even though they may sometimes act that way. They have to do what you say, assuming that what you're asking them to do is legal, ethical and consistent with your organization's policies; otherwise, you can terminate them.

With all the employment litigation and general employee grousing these days, it can be easy for a manager or supervisor to feel as if he or she is under siege. Employees complain at the first opportunity about workload, their coworkers, and the "lies" they believe upper management is telling them.