A Guide to Dealing with Difficult People - Introduction (Part 1 of 6)

People are the most critical asset of a business and managing them is the most challenging part of being a manager. Understanding this part of the job almost requires a degree in psychology with all the different personalities and attitudes that come with this ever important and challenging resource.

Now, I am not a psychologist, and apart from taking a few psychology courses in college, I am no expert in human psychology. However, as a manager dealing with people daily, I have learned how to navigate the myriad personalities and engage people positively and productively, redirecting the negative attitudes and getting people to work more positively.

In the articles that follow we will look at four different difficult personality types, identifying what makes them difficult to deal with, and tips and techniques for managing these problematic personalities.

The final essay ties it all together and offers general suggestions for managing any problematic personality so that you can positively engage them and help to guide them to participate in a manner that is congruent with the organizational goals and values.

Check Out the Entire Series:

Part 1: A Guide to Dealing with Difficult People - Introduction

Part 2: The Complainer

Part 3: The Sour Attitude

Part 4: The Responsibility Avoider

Part 5: The Spokesperson

Part 6: Engaging and Guiding Difficult People

We must realize that while these personalities can be challenging, people are who they are, and we are not going to change them, we still need to use interpersonal skills to get them working in a way that achieves team goals. We can do this by redirecting their negative energy, bringing out their positive attributes, and challenging them to engage in more positive ways.

So, let’s start looking at the dominant personality types. I have attempted to identify a few of the more obvious personality types, and this is by no means an exhaustive or complete list.

The Complainer 

The complainer comes in two varieties one who complains about everything and everyone and offers no constructive criticism or input. The other is the complainer who is trying to improve things, and may have some legitimate complaints or suggestions, but cries wolf so often we just quit listening to them.

In both cases, the complaining is chronic and continuous and causes people to shut down and avoiding the offending employee.

The Sour Attitude

These people believe the organization is out to get everybody, that management is against the people, and nothing they do makes any difference. They continuously focus on the negative and have a woe-is-me attitude. These people believe they are the best workers in the place, and in some cases, they may be, and that all their problems are the fault of everybody else, especially management.

Responsibility Avoider

These people take no accountability for their actions and will always look to deflect responsibility for the negative consequences of their actions. When you try to talk to them about issues and problems you will feel like you would be better off talking to a wall. No matter what you say to them, or what facts you present to them, they will dodge, and duck, and never address the underlying issues head-on.

The Spokesperson

The spokesperson believes that they are the voice for everybody’s problems in the shop. This person feels they must speak for everybody even if the issue does not affect them in any way. They talk to everybody and usually know every little problem that occurs in the workplace. These people are often confrontational in their dealings with management and want to challenge every decision that is made.

Conclusion

As we go through these different personalities, and ways to deal with them, please keep in mind that these problem personalities will exist in any organization and they are not going away. We need to find constructive ways to deal with these personalities. We need to identify the positive attributes these personalities bring to the organization and find a way to encourage them to bring out more of the positive while minimizing the negative aspects of these personalities.

So, check back soon as I dig deeper into each one of these personalities and present some strategies for minimizing their negative impacts. Hopefully, I can also help you find a way to redirect them in a way that will have a positive influence on your team.