Managing Difficult Personalities at Work
28 August 2013
Read by 1758 persons
Establishing interpersonal communication with an aggressive, critical, passive, manipulative interlocutor… is not always easy. You must invest a great deal of time and energy to restore the foundations of healthy and constructive communication.
Understanding, supervising, controlling and managing difficult personalities is not something that can be improvised.
Understanding why a person is difficult
Several factors can be at the origin of difficult behaviors to manage.
The person may lack recognition, not feel valued, or not fulfill themselves in their activity.
Poor organization or an overload of work can also cause stress and, consequently, thoughtless or excessive attitudes, aggressiveness, or even violence.
Not to mention the lack of self-confidence or fear that can lead to passivity or systematic criticism.
Identifying difficult personalities
"Hell is other people," as Sartre says. The other is often perceived as the sole responsible for a bad relationship.
Learning to identify difficult personalities can help to manage them and get out of deadlock situations. On this occasion, you will also be able to become aware of your own shortcomings.
Among the difficult personalities are the aggressive, the passive, the tyrant, the critic, the manipulator, the pessimist, the victim…
Some techniques for managing difficult personalities
The basic rule is simple: avoid reacting out of pride and getting carried away. However, you must adapt your behavior to your interlocutor.
- Faced with an aggressive person: during an interview, let them express their grievances. Help them channel their emotions and regain their composure. To do this, go over their grievances point by point and clarify the situation by explaining your point of view. The objective is to help them regain their footing in reality.
- Faced with a passive or pessimistic person: question them about the reasons that prevent them from acting, show them the reality. Help them concretely to define actions that they can carry out.
- Faced with a tyrant: try to change the situation by asserting your autonomy without endangering yourself.
- Faced with a critic: be reassuring towards them and value their criticisms if they are constructive.
- Faced with a manipulator: don't play their game, ask them to clarify their remarks and don't hesitate to put in place a transparent information system.
- Faced with a victim: give them consideration and comfort. Be precise and concrete with them.
Etre-bien-au-travail.fr
Understanding, supervising, controlling and managing difficult personalities is not something that can be improvised.
Understanding why a person is difficult
Several factors can be at the origin of difficult behaviors to manage.
The person may lack recognition, not feel valued, or not fulfill themselves in their activity.
Poor organization or an overload of work can also cause stress and, consequently, thoughtless or excessive attitudes, aggressiveness, or even violence.
Not to mention the lack of self-confidence or fear that can lead to passivity or systematic criticism.
Identifying difficult personalities
"Hell is other people," as Sartre says. The other is often perceived as the sole responsible for a bad relationship.
Learning to identify difficult personalities can help to manage them and get out of deadlock situations. On this occasion, you will also be able to become aware of your own shortcomings.
Among the difficult personalities are the aggressive, the passive, the tyrant, the critic, the manipulator, the pessimist, the victim…
Some techniques for managing difficult personalities
The basic rule is simple: avoid reacting out of pride and getting carried away. However, you must adapt your behavior to your interlocutor.
- Faced with an aggressive person: during an interview, let them express their grievances. Help them channel their emotions and regain their composure. To do this, go over their grievances point by point and clarify the situation by explaining your point of view. The objective is to help them regain their footing in reality.
- Faced with a passive or pessimistic person: question them about the reasons that prevent them from acting, show them the reality. Help them concretely to define actions that they can carry out.
- Faced with a tyrant: try to change the situation by asserting your autonomy without endangering yourself.
- Faced with a critic: be reassuring towards them and value their criticisms if they are constructive.
- Faced with a manipulator: don't play their game, ask them to clarify their remarks and don't hesitate to put in place a transparent information system.
- Faced with a victim: give them consideration and comfort. Be precise and concrete with them.
Etre-bien-au-travail.fr
