Who's responsible for an employee's morale? Many people think it's the manager's responsibility, but I say it depends.

Before Sarah became manager of her new team, she'd been warned that the group had long-standing problems with low productivity and morale. Sarah rapidly discovered the warnings were accurate. Her staff spent too much time complaining and dealing with emotional outbursts.

However, a careful analysis revealed the problem wasn't the whole team; it began with one employee: Penny.

Penny never was pleased and was clear about whose fault it was.

She was certain management was trying to squeeze as much productivity as possible from employees for the least amount of money. She "knew" management wanted to take away benefits, raises and bonuses, if it could. Also, management wanted to decrease employees' flex time, break time and vacation selection.

She refused to use organizational procedures to solve problems because, she said, she didn't trust them. She was outraged that management made decisions without consulting her.

She stated repeatedly that she had low morale because she didn't trust management, and it was management's responsibility to do whatever she needed in order to gain her trust.

Though nothing bad had been done to her, Penny saw plots around every corner. She was constantly alert and fearful. Every rumor started with her whispered innuendoes or her outrage at what management was going to do.

Penny's fear, anger and hysteria were catching. She could whip the rest of her co-workers into a panic, followed by anger at the injustices she thought management was planning. She was skilled at twisting examples to fit her view of the world.

She never allowed her name to be associated with her complaints, but always wrote anonymous letters or said that "everyone" was upset. She complained only to alert management to the universally low morale it was causing.

No amount of evidence changed Penny's attitude. As soon as one predicted catastrophe failed to materialize, she took credit for preventing it or immediately moved on to a new suspicion or complaint.

Previously, management had accepted the blame for Penny's feelings. They believed that if an employee's morale was low, someone must be treating her badly. Managers were responsible for treating each employee the way she wanted so her morale would increase.

Sometimes, managers can be unfair, arbitrary and bullying. But in this case, Penny was the bully. She had used her unhappiness to coerce previous managers to do what she wanted. She maintained her power by never being satisfied.

Sarah had an epiphany: Penny's fear, hostility and morale were Penny's problem. Penny always had been treated with politeness and civility. Nothing bad or wrong had been done to her. Nothing harmful was being planned for her. However, Penny's productivity and professional behavior were Sarah's problem.

Sarah used Dick Grote's suggestions in the book "Discipline Without Punishment," plus the two C's: Contract and Consequences.

The contract had two areas:

1. Productivity goals (tasks and timelines) for every team member.

2. Professional behavior required of everyone on the team. Some of the requirements were about what to do if they heard rumors, or if they were afraid or angry about changes they suspected were going to happen.

Sarah met with everyone on the team individually to specify their productivity goals.

She led team meetings to outline a code of professional behavior.

The contract was binding on each member of the team, Sarah included. If they honored it, there would be specific rewards; if not, specific consequences would be invoked.

After all the discussions, Penny claimed no one needed a contract. They were all adults and knew what was expected. The rest of the team disagreed with her. In order to be part of the team, everyone had to agree. Penny reluctantly agreed.

Sarah explained that she was merely the keeper of the contract. The contract was fair and reasonable. She wanted everyone to succeed in both areas of the contract and to stay with the team, but that was each individual's responsibility.

Each employee was responsible for his or her own morale. Sarah explained that her task was simply to be reasonable and fair in evaluating performance according to the contract each individual had agreed to.

The first time Sarah found Penny's behavior in violation of the contract, Penny protested loudly. She complained to the rest of the team that Sarah was destroying her morale.

This time she got little sympathy from her co-workers. They would rather earn rewards by being productive than waste time wallowing in Penny's emotional drama.

After a few more episodes, Penny asked to transfer to a different team. But by then, other managers had seen the absence of emotional melodrama and the increase in productivity on Sarah's team. All the managers refused to be responsible for quelling Penny's fears, making her happy or increasing her morale.

Penny couldn't stand the loss of power and control or change her manipulative ways. She violated the contract repeatedly and was dismissed.

Ben Leichtling, a Denver-based speaker, consultant and leadership adviser, can be reached at 303-458-6616 or Ben@LeichtlingAssoc.com.