Throughout different phases in life, you're bound to be in groups of people. Groups where each person creates their own unique dynamics with the others involved. There'll be the leader type who wants to get things going, the planner who takes the path forwards, the go-getter who gets the work done as and when it appears, the procrastinator who delays the work and right at the deadline turns up with their share and finally the "free rider" who watches everything go down without doing anything. This free-rider may be honest and say that they do nothing or feign ignorance with other teams and act as if they have been the thread keeping the team together.
Identify your group's dynamic:
The first step is to understand who does what and how do they contribute. As in the case of the leader or planner, their piece of the work is essential but mainly lies in the areas of more abstract types as compared to more solid works. The one that you wish to point your finger at for not working may be the one responsible for monitoring and following up with a number of people and working with abstract works like coordination instead of doing the piece themselves. Understanding this dynamic not only lets you understand how others stand but also how and where your standing is relative to others.
Reduce your own workload:
There's a good chance that you may be hogging too much work and others simply aren't getting to do much. This leads to them getting used to you taking up things as they come. Once you reduce your workload, take this time to relax a bit instead of overthinking about ways in which you could get this other person to take up more things. You may also approach others in your group and tell them to reduce their outputs so that there can be a sort of initiative from the free-rider by understanding the situation. When under the pressure of a "must-do" situation, people tend to get serious if they previously weren't.
Address the issue to the person concerned:
The person who is not performing deserves to be told, in fact it is their right to be called out first in person so that the issue can be addressed. One of two things can happen, either they'll agree and start working on it or they'll get defensive on their position, how they actually work and the situation in their life. If the former happens, the person has been made aware and is now doing well. If the latter occurs, give them a chance to open up to you and help them work on the problem together for a bit then when you believe they've got there, let them be more independent and see them bloom.
Informing your team:
The teammates come next once you feel that having the one on one talk didn't work out. Since you're all sharing dynamics, there's a great chance that the others have also noticed a lack of proactivity from the person in question here. There might be an intervention held to call the person out in a group, now this can either go great and solve problems or go terribly and ruin relations, dynamics and possibly even the free rider's trust in people. Believe it or not, people don't really like it when their flaws are being pointed out in public. The managers will usually be prevalent in your workspaces due to how hierarchies are structured. Chances are that your managers were where you are and they did great which is why they're managers. The possibilities are endless here and it's not a dichotomy anymore. Literally, anything can happen at this level and so it's not to be dependent upon but it's best to let those in charge that not every person adds value.
Remember that the problem is with the person's work and not their personality. This is key because distaste can easily flow from one aspect to another. It's easy to get carried away by emotions and frustration to start disliking someone for who they are because of what they do.
Hope for the best:
Once you have laid all your chips down as well as passed some accountability onto your teammate, there's a great chance they'll understand how they're seen and would ideally start working to rebuild their image. This is because they understand the situation they have put the others into on previous occasions. Rather than the feeling of guilt, what they display is a feeling of determination to prove that they belong where they have willingly wanted to be instead of someone who just floats along with the flow. Of course, there will also be times when things do not go well. It is key to understand that it is not your responsibility to make this free-loader work. You have played your role in trying to motivate them and create an environment to push them towards working. With the important people also aware of who is working and who isn't, the future of the free-loader is completely in their own palms. This was Alliteration Articulation, over and out!
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