Thursday, January 10, 2008

How To Deal With Difficult People In The Workplace

It's inevitable. You are going to encounter difficult people in your business dealings - whether its your colleagues or customers. Elinor Robin, a WomenEntrepreneur.com columnist, offers some great tips on how you can deal with them effectively:

1) First, assess the situation. Is this really a difficult person or is he or she just having a bad day?

2) Set boundaries and limitations regarding what you will and will not tolerate from others.

3)Seek understanding regarding the difficult person's true motivation.

4)Know when to let go and move on. Your best option may be to withdraw from the relationship--even though that might mean quitting your job, divorcing your spouse, eating lunch alone or moving far away from your parents or grown children. We all get to choose whom we allow to take up space in our lives. Choose wisely.

5) Don't fight back or try to beat them at their own game. They have been practicing their skills for a lifetime, and you're an amateur.


In addition, she suggests that you do the opposite of what he or she expects. Change your response and avoid getting caught up in the cycle. Also, don't try to change them. You can only change your responses to their behavior.

To view the full article, visit:
http://www.womenentrepreneur.com/article/2360.html

No comments:

Post a Comment