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Civility is one of the best ways to deal with difficult personalities in the workplace.
Civility sets the stage for effective communication. In many ways, dealing with difficult personalities is simply a matter of setting and negotiating boundaries. After all, difficult personalities are not “bad people.” They just have a fixed way of relating and may need feedback from peers in order to adjust.
Civility creates a positive atmosphere that allows people to see beyond the obvious implications of behavior. For example, many "difficult personalities" are simply people who have needs that are not being addressed. You may see your co-worker as annoying when he or she simply craves attention and recognition. It’s also possible that your difficult co-worker is merely channeling anger and frustration from his/her personal life into the workplace. When you engage in civil behavior with your co-worker, you provide more opportunities for supportive interaction and empathy.
Cost and Rewards
While incivility can be perceived as innocuous behavior, it can significantly affect the company’s bottom line. Incivility has a direct impact on company productivity, sales, and customer retention among others. Civility, on the other hand, can improve all these areas and help create a high-performance organization.
Until next time...
Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/
What may be considered a difficult personality?
The answer is subjective. A difficult personality for one person need not be a difficult personality for another. Usually, though, people perceived as difficult are those who manifest inflexible extremes of personality traits. For instance, while being controlling is a desirable trait in a manager, being excessively controlling would just make the people under the manager’s care feel stifled and even abused. Recognition of the need to consult co-workers about major company decisions is a good thing, but when an employee consults everyone else on almost everything to the point that the constant “consultation” is already dependency in disguise, then the person becomes difficult to work with.
When working with a difficult personality, most people’s immediate response is an unhelpful one: a response aimed more at relieving personal stress than creating a more workable relationship. For example, there is a tendency to avoid dominant personality types, lecture the overly-dependent, and exact vengeance on the passive-aggressive. The result is an endless cycle of dysfunctional relating that creates more problems than it solves.
Until next time...
Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/
Fact 1: People are the most valuable resource an organization can have.
Fact 2: In many cases, people are the most under-utilized resource in an organization.
Fact 3: This under-utilization is in many cases linked to the level of personal productivity.
Fact 4: Personal productivity can be significantly improved in most organizations.
Personal Productivity - Benefits
Benefits accruing to the individual include:
- Increased motivation
- Decreased stress
- Achievement of objectives
- Reward and recognition
Benefits accruing to the team include:
- Better working environment
- Faster achievement of objectives
- Recognition and reward
- Motivation
- Enhanced teamwork
Benefits accruing to the organization include:
- Improved productivity
- Lower costs
- Corporate image enhancement
- Happier and more focused employees
Until next time...
Sheryl Tuchman, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
http://tools2succeed.com/
