Q: I run a small business with five to six employees. I do all interviewing and hiring, but no matter how good the person seems in the beginning, things eventually change.

I always try to be personable and go with the flow if my employees have personal situations that need attention. One day while grabbing a cup of coffee, one of my employees, a young woman in her 20s, opened up about having been sexually molested for several years by her uncle after her father died. It had nothing to do with work or the job, but she poured out the information so quickly I had no choice but to hear it. I was dumbfounded and said nothing. I think she looked at me as a father figure (not the position I wanted to be in).

I listened politely and then left the coffee area to return to my office. She never mentioned it again. For some reason, she needed to get it off her mind, and I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and had to listen. She was a smart, responsible employee, and that's all I cared about. She then began to make a point of telling me things two other employees were doing that she felt were unprofessional. I listened closely to this information because it had to do with business and employee performance, and I thanked her. I asked for her thoughts on how to correct each situation, and her ideas were very good. Soon after, I asked whether she would like to be in charge of the other employees so I could concentrate on my business. She was more on the ball than the others, and she had already proved her loyalty to me by reporting them.

I announced her promotion, explaining that making her supervisor would allow me to focus on the business. She took on this supervisory role seriously and began finding faults with two individuals. Each time she brought the problems to me, I agreed with her and told her to handle it. Then there was an uprising.

Employees told me she had become a little dictator and ordered others around. I told her to ease up on people or they would quit, and she listened to me. I agreed that one of the employees needed to be fired but said the other should not be. I said that I valued that employee and that I could help him improve his performance. She argued with me and became too familiar in her tone and dissatisfied about all sorts of things. This happened in just under a year.

For things to run smoothly in a small company, employees must trust one another, co-workers and supervisors. No one likes to work for a person with a hidden agenda, which was slowly revealed in this young woman. I talked to her about her attitude, but she became unhappy with everything and left. I lost a smart, responsible employee, but I don't know what I could have done.

A: You had no control over the young woman's opening up to you about her personal childhood tragedy, and tragic it is. Victims of childhood sexual molestation can experience a lifetime of emotional and behavioral problems, some more apparent than others. Once a person opens up about private and personal information, it serves as a permanent distraction for all who hear it. You were placed in an awkward situation, because as you said, it had nothing to do with the job or the company, and yes, the inappropriate admission (not the fact that it happened) should have put you on notice for other possible problems.

It would have been better for you to remain in charge of your entire staff and pay attention to complaints brought to you. Because you considered her opinions on employees valid, you could have solicited her feedback for resolving various situations while maintaining control for the final resolution. She most likely would have still brought you information on unprofessional behavior, and you could have watched for her to slowly prove her effectiveness. Warning signs are only useful when you allow time to reveal the truth.

Email your questions to workplace expert Lindsey Novak at [email protected], and follow her on Twitter @I_truly_care. To find out more about Lindsey Novak and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.