[difficult people] - 2. Work effectively with people of different difficulties
Dealing with Difficult People
Types of People: Easy to Work With / Moderate / Difficult
As we start the discussion about how best to deal with difficult people, we start out by working out different types of people and how to refer to them.
Here are some different personality types you might encounter in the workplace.
Easier to work with
The Collaborator: top priority is team success; they are always willing to work together with others and trying to find common ground. Skilled at being flexible, and open in communication.
The Supporter: offers encouragement; offers assistance. Approachable and empathetic, and a helpful person to speak to in a crisis.
The Innovator: creative and filled with positive energy, which they feed back into the team. Open to new ideas, and a bit of an inspiration.
Moderately Challenging
The Independent: Preference for working alone, and so resistant to collaborating. High quality work, but not great at teamwork or sharing responsibility.
The Analyst: Detail-oriented but can be stuck in the details and over analysing things. Can be critical of work that doesn't meet their standards
The Perfectionist: High standards and hard to please; asking for perfection can make them hard to work with, especially when there's a mismatch between their standards and others'.
Difficult to Work With
The Dominator: Can take over groups especially during a decision making process. Can be overly aggressive or assertive in meetings.
The Critic: Points out flaws without offering solutions, and the negativity spills over into the team, stifling creativity.
The Avoider: Actively avoids confrontation and responsibility; neither dependable, nor useful for resolving issues.
The Volatile: Unpredictable in their mood swings and reactions, making people around them tense with their reactions.
How to make peace with different types of people
For easy to work with: leverage their strengths; they can make the work environment better. Encourage them to be involved in team projects and the decision-making process.
Moderately Challenging: acknowledge the challenges, and their preferences. Provide clear communication and feedback, and look for a middle ground, while encouraging them to grow, especially in the way they work with teams.
For Difficult to Work With: set clear boundaries and make sure your expectations are clear. Use conflict resolution techniques, even up to mediation if necessary. Keep them aware of professional development opportunities that might help them with their interpersonal skills.
If you're going to be the best team-mate you can be, having strategies to work with different kinds of people will be a big help. And, when more difficult situations arise, strategies for those situations will help.
Looking at this list, does it summon up any particular memories of former workmates?
I'm looking forward to thinking all this through with you.
As ever, hit reply if you have any thoughts to share.