Tough one. I see three angles here.

First, can you identify if there is anything that this employee is doing to prevent you from getting your work done to the level it needs to be. I’m talking to you as the employee here, not as the supervisor. If there is something that he is doing that is impacting your ability to do your job, then you have the responsibility to talk with him and ask for what you need. I would say the same thing to the other employees as well. You can do this diplomatically by saying something to the effect, “Bill, if I could get you to do ‘B,’ then I’d be able to do ‘A,’ and the benefit would be ‘C.’ The idea here is not to criticize but simply to ask for what you need. This way the difficult employees sees the situation as you problem-solving instead of criticizing.

If the annoying employee is just annoying but is not really impacting people’s ability to do their job, then you have to ask yourself how much energy you want to direct towards this. I do think it should be addressed, but it may not be a Top 10 level issue. If it is a minor issue, then hopefully you are involved with his performance review, along with your manager, and you can address it then, together.

Second, if the behavior is a problem and you have already tried talking to him, then you and your manager need to have a “discussion” with him together (sooner than later) about the role you need to see him play in the department and what is and is not acceptable. Again, focus on the important of a team environment and the value his experience is and needs to be for the group in the future. In other words, ask him to step up to a more leadership type role by demonstrating the behaviors that you expect to see in everyone.

Lastly, you could also do a half-day to full-day teambuilding (offsite) where the group as a whole can identify their strengths and growth areas as a team. Having facilitated such sessions for years, a facilitator can make sure that any dysfunction in the group surfaces for discussion in a safe and productive way. It may lead to your manager being asked to also step it up a bit in his management abilities over the group, but I’m guessing that that is already part of the problem. Hope that helps. Feel free to listen to the Ask Dr. Mac internet radio show on latalkradio.com for general advice on employee issues.