How to work with colleagues who do the bare minimum and use them to your advantage

How to work with colleagues who do the bare minimum and use them to your advantageHow to work with colleagues who do the bare minimum and use them to your advantageTrying to work with a colleague who is always lagging behind and barely makes an effort to catch up is a tough spot to be in.Heres how to manage.Talk to the person directlyYou should talk to the colleague who isnt contributing as much by speaking either face-to-face or on the phone.We know, we know - this is much easier said than done. Thats why its important to contain it to just you and the person, instead of critiquing them in front of other people.If you go above and beyond, they can make you look even betterChances are, if youre notlage doing as little as they are, youll appear to be a better fit for the company.Karin Hurt and David Dye, authors of Winning Well A Managers Guide to Getting Results - Without Losing Your Soul, answer a readers question on their site about how to stay driven when colleagues are lazy and the supervisor doesnt seem to notice that theyre doing more work than the other.They suggestto keep rocking your roleStay focused on your MITs (most important things) to serve your customers and the business. Stay creative. Chances are your boss is picking up a lot more than you know. Performance management conversations happen behind closed doors. I wish we could tell you how many performance issues weve dealt with that we longed to share with the high-performers we knew were frustrated, but couldnt. Be sure you keep building your brand with a strong track record of results and collaborative relationships.Set clear work boundariesWhat do you say to that person who constantly wants you to do their work?Leigh Steere, co-founder of management training tool Managing People Better, tellsMonsterto zone in on whats going on and suggests telling your coworkerI dont mind helping every once in awhile, but Im noticing that you are asking me to help with things from your to-do list frequently . I have a full plate without taking on more, and I need to say no.Have a conversation with your supervisorAlison Green, author of the Ask a Manager blog, features something you can say to your supervisor if your colleagues inaction is affecting your productivity in U.S. News World ReportIm spending significant amounts of time talking to Janes clients when they cant reach her and finishing up her reports when she leaves for the day without completing them. Its causing me to have to push off priorities like A and B, and I dont have as much time to spend with my own clients as a result.Escalating the situation this way will demonstrate that youre really paying attention to how you could best be using your time at work, and that you dont want anyone or anything getting in the way of that.