238 Management skills Withdrawal Withdrawal can take the form of lack of interest, uncooperative behaviour or refusing to take part in the work of a team, an activity or a project. If any of these happens and work is affected, you have to deal with it, not by confrontation but by trying to reach agreement that something is wrong (not easy; people in an emotional state are quite prepared to believe that everyone is out of step but them) and attempting to establish the cause of the behaviour. By definition, if someone is in an emotional state it is going to be dif- ficult to get through to them. But the attempt must be made and this is best done by being unemotional yourself and only referring to facts about the situation ­ what has happened or is happening. The aim is to get the person to accept that these facts are correct, although there may still be a real prob- lem in that their view of the facts is distorted by their emotions. Of course, this could apply to you and a dispassionate pursuit of the truth may result in you readjusting your views on the matter. If, and it can be a big if, you get to the root of the problem, you can try to get the individual to propose what actions should be taken by them or by you. Try to get them to suggest solutions; don't impose your own ideas.