5 Difficult Office Personalities and How to Deal With Them

The Bullies

Intimidating, arrogant,

need to be right.

Your strategy:

Stand up to

them calmly,

not defiantly.

✔

Don’t engage

them in

confrontation,

because you

won’t win.

✔

Once you’ve

earned their

respect, you may

become friends!

✔

The Whiners

Eager to find fault

but reluctant to

take responsibility.

Your strategy:

Listen closely, in

case they just

need to vent.

✔

Ask them

to propose

solutions.

✔

Don’t condone

their victim role;

it will only

reinforce it.

✔

The Walking Dead

Despite body language

to the contrary, insist

nothing is wrong.

Your strategy:

Use open-ended

questions that

they can’t just

nod to answer.

✔

Ask a question,

and then look at

them silently for

as long as it takes

until they respond.

✔

Tell them what

you think may

be going on,

and ask if your

interpretation

is correct.

✔

The “Yes” People

Have great intentions

but overcommit and can’t

follow through.

Your strategy:

Show them

that you care

about them so

they can stop

trying so hard

to please you.

✔

Help them

realize that being

honest with you

won’t risk your

friendship.

✔

Don’t let them

take on more than

you know they

can handle.

✔

The Doom-and-Gloomers

Assume everything and

everyone will disappoint them,

based on past experience.

Your strategy:

Value them as

the people who

foresee obstacles.

✔

Don’t argue with

them, because

they can’t be

persuaded.

✔

Steer them

away from broad

generalizations

and demand

specific examples.

✔