151 Quick Ideas to Deal With Difficult People

  • 1h 52m
  • Carrie Mason-Draffen
  • Career Press, Inc.
  • 2007

If you have ever wished you had the equivalent of a “Nanny 911” to defuse tensions in the office, your wish has come true. 151 Quick Ideas to Deal With Difficult People is the ultimate guide on how to face challenging employees and coworkers.

The extensive topics in this book deal with how to handle characters ranging from Bunglers to Backstabbers to Bullies. Few books on difficult employees, if any, offer such an extensive assortment of the characters you’re likely to encounter at work and how best to deal with them.

When faced with difficult employees, too often managers and coworkers lack the skills for handling the stressful encounters, so they throw up their hands in complete exasperation. Well, all that ends with this book. You’ll learn how to:

  • Keep problem employees from setting the tone in the office.
  • Take steps to turn troublemakers into team players.
  • Keep them from demoralizing or scaring away other employees.
  • Know when to cut your losses.
  • Avoid hiring troublemakers in the first place.
  • Confront bullies, harassers, and ageists.
  • Keep a backstabber from sabotaging your career.
  • Keep an aggressive colleague from commandeering your meeting.
  • Deal with colleagues who infringe on your time.

Because the information in this book is so concise and practical, you’ll refer to it again and again. Whether you are a manager or a coworker of difficult employees, the advice will give you the tools to better supervise problem workers or the confidence to stand up to them. You will no longer live in fear of an aggressive employee ruining your day.

About the Author

Carrie Mason-Draffen is a reporter and columnist for Newsday, a daily newspaper based on Long Island, New York. She writes the newspaper's syndicated "Help Wanted" column, which runs in several papers throughout the country. Through her column she has helped hundreds of employees and managers to find solutions to difficult workplace problems. She lives on Long Island with her husband and their three teenagers.

In this Book

  • Establish a Zero-Tolerance Policy
  • Don't Let Difficult People Set the Tone for the Office
  • Bone Up on Dealing With Difficult Employees
  • Don't Wait for the Boston Tea Party
  • Be a Good Listener
  • Work Out a Solution Jointly
  • Follow Through on a Plan of Action
  • What Personality Trait Is at Play?
  • Make Sure the Employee Understands
  • Try Humor
  • Express Confidence That the Person Can Change
  • Thank Them for Their Cooperation
  • Master the Art of Difficult Conversations
  • Train Your Managers in the Art of Difficult Conversations
  • Don't Promote Mediocrity
  • Seek Other Owners' Advice
  • Reign in Difficult Family Members
  • Mean What You Say
  • Handling Resistance to Overtime
  • Dealing With Information Hoarders
  • Know When to Consult a Lawyer or Other Experts
  • Don't Take Problem People Home
  • When an Employee Threatens Violence
  • Offer Bullies Options, Not Just Objections
  • Document Difficult Encounters
  • Monitor Phone Calls for Difficult Employees
  • Acknowledge Employees for Defusing Tense Situations
  • The Office Isn't a Day Care
  • Use Irrational Requests as Conversational Openers
  • Hire Smart
  • Fire Smart
  • Encourage Employees to Tell You About Problem Colleagues
  • Don't Be Afraid to Critique Problem Managers
  • When a Problem Employee Gives Notice
  • Establish a System for Filing Complaints
  • Set an Example
  • Encourage Managers to Communicate Problems Up the Chain
  • No Across-the-Board Reprimands
  • Don't Parent a Difficult Employee
  • Audit Teams for Hot Spots
  • Remove a Team Member if Necessary
  • Mine the Exit Interviews
  • When Employees Resist Change
  • Nix Managers' Gossip About Employees
  • The Greatest No-Shows on Earth
  • Is the Work Load Balanced?
  • Don't Undercut Your Managers
  • Don't Forget About Your Other Employees
  • Help! How to Find an Attorney
  • Refer to EAP
  • Give Yourself a Break
  • Put an End to Pilfering
  • Vary Your Tactics
  • Suggest Better Work Habits
  • Send Employees for More Training
  • No Knee-Jerk Reactions
  • Is the Affair Bad for Business?
  • Handling the Nasty End to Subordinates' Romance
  • Addressing an Employee Who Won't Dress the Part
  • A Wake-Up Call for Stragglers
  • Use an Evaluation as a Blueprint for Transforming Problem Employees
  • Call Employees on Inappropriate Computer and Internet Use
  • Nip Managers' Favoritism in the Bud
  • Remove Abusive Managers
  • When Employees Ask to Borrow Money
  • Why an Apology Matters
  • Remind Employees of the Chain of Command
  • Demand Sensitivity Training
  • By the Way, “This Is Your Job”
  • Don't Be Star Struck
  • Know When to Cut Your Losses
  • Discourage Workaholics
  • What's in It for Me?
  • Ask Offenders for Self-Evaluation
  • Celebrate Transformations
  • Warding Off Harassers
  • Discourage Racist Jokes
  • Asking a Collegue to Clean Up His Cube
  • Don't Take Disputes Personally
  • Talking to a Colleague About Faulty Hygiene
  • Try Role-Playing Before the Big Face-Off
  • Getting Colleagues to Respect Your Time
  • Don't Throw Gas on the Fire
  • Don't Let the P.D.s Get You Down
  • Find the Fault Line of the Fault-finding Teammate
  • Know Your Workplace Rights
  • Confront Bullies on Your Own Terms
  • Establish Rules for Contentious Team Meetings
  • Outing the Backstabber
  • When a Colleague Refuses to Cooperate
  • Challenge the Chronic Complainer
  • The Cell Phone and What Ails Us
  • Keeping Delicate Phone Talks Private
  • Imagine Success
  • How to Handle a Surprise Milestone Party
  • Oh Lunch Most Foul!
  • Handling the Chronic Interrupter
  • Don't Let an Aggressive Colleague Commandeer Your Meeting
  • Mind the Generational Gap
  • Discourage Eavesdropping
  • Extending a Helping Hand
  • Taming the Green-Eyed Monster
  • Makes Sure the Boss Knows Your Side of the Story
  • Recovering From a Fall
  • Empower Yourself
  • Seek a Colleague's Advice
  • Ask for Backup
  • Temper Criticism With Praise
  • Reject Offensive E-Mails
  • Change Your Location if You Have To
  • Meet the Office Recluse
  • Pick Your Battles
  • Have Grudge, Will Travel
  • When to Take Legal Action
  • Restoring Trust
  • Develop Coping Rituals
  • Beware the False Confidant
  • Become a Leader of One
  • Insist on Respect
  • Become a Peer Mediator
  • When a Colleague Won't Pay Up
  • Have Fun Despite the Naysayers
  • Beware the “Mind Reader”
  • Prep for a Meeting With Boss
  • Flu Rage
  • Beware the Manipulator
  • The Art of the Riposte
  • Red Alert—A Colleague Belittles You in Front of the Boss
  • Oh Perfection Most Foul
  • Play to Their Strengths
  • Ouch! The Supersensitive Colleague
  • When You're Asked to Clean Up a Colleague's Report
  • Listen Up
  • Where's My Stapler?
  • Admit When You're Wrong
  • You're Not Alone
  • Beware the Minimizers
  • Focus on the Good
  • When a Foe Asks for a Favor
  • Handling the Over -indulger
  • Asking a Fellow Manager to Respect Your Subordinates
  • The Disappearing Colleague
  • When a Problem Employee Becomes Your Boss
  • Demand Reciprocity
  • The Rosebush Cometh
  • Just Say No to the Office Peddler
  • You're the Boss Now
  • If the Boss Asks, Give an Honest Assessment of a Colleague
  • If You Must, Avoid Contentious Topics
  • Assemble an Emotional First-Aid Kit
  • When the Best Strategy is to Move On
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