Managing "Difficult" People

Management Training Course
Managing "Difficult" People - 1 Day Course
Suitable For:

All Managers, Team Leaders and Supervisors

Overview:

The fundamental principle that lies at the heart of every 'difficult' person lurks in this 13 letter word:"Communication."

Most things that happen when communication goes wrong are usually the other guy"s fault. Like driving a car: "I"m a good driver; it"s all the other idiots who don"t know what they"re doing."

Indeed, not only is it the other guy"s fault, but if that person would only change, my life would be great. If they would just listen to what I"m saying, return my calls, be more patient, see things my way, then we would get on just fine, thank you very much.

This line of thought happens with most of us around conflict and those people we find difficult.

Inside our heads, our thoughts go round and round as we inwardly accuse the other person of all sorts of nefarious deeds. We can also make mental tick lists of what the other person needs to change in order for there to be less conflict and resolve their difficult-ness.

Not only that, because we know just how everyone else should behave around us, when they don"t (and do things we don"t like), we"re quite capable of thinking that they"re doing it deliberately. How could they not know that what they"re doing is upsetting to me?

On the outside however, it's usually quite a different story... here are a few approaches that people take for coping with difficult people: Put it off - avoid raising the matter, pretend it doesn't exist

• Put up with it - let them have their way
• "Evidence collect"
• Be right while the other person is clearly wrong
• Let them have it between the eyes

None of these strategies help in any way to resolve conflict or deal with our difficult person effectively. They are all designed to make us feel better, or at least justified in our feelings and actions, but they don"t change the situation - and they most certainly will make it worse!

This participative1 daycourse provides managers with the skills, knowledge and confidence required to effectively handle 'difficult' situations and people with success.

Outline:

• Personal Objectives and Warm Up
• Defining "Difficult"
• 5 Thoughts on Difficult People
• Examining the Drivers of Difficult People
• Practical Session 1
• Difficult People - Wisdom
• Practical Session 2
• Giving Negative Feedback - Positively
• Top Tactics for Managing Difficult People
• Transactional Analysis
• Practical Session 3
• Personal Action Planning