Working with Difficult People

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Course duration

Course Benefits

  • Explain the role of personality in the workplace.
  • Explain the impact of difficult personalities.
  • Illustrate the communication process.
  • Describe the effects of broken communication.
  • Apply constructive feedback and conflict resolution skills in a variety of situations.
  • Formulate a set of proactive boundaries and consequences for given workplace situations.
  • Learn methods for handling conflict when it occurs.

Course Outline

  1. The Impact of Unhealthy Personalities
    1. Personality and Behavior
    2. Workplace Environment
      1. Performance and Morale
      2. Types of Environments
    3. Morale and Turnover
      1. The Role of the Supervisor
      2. The Cost of Turnover
    4. Legal Implications
    5. Bullying
    6. Hostile Work Environments
    7. Harassment
    8. Family Medical Leave Act
    9. Grievance Processes
    10. Hidden Costs to a Company
      1. Decreased Productivity
      2. Leaves
      3. Replacement Costs
      4. Image and Revenue
    11. The Benefits of a Healthy Environment
  2. Understanding People
    1. Personality Types
      1. DMS-IV Personality Types
    2. Recognizing Destructive Behaviors
    3. Personality Types
      1. Authoritarian
      2. Manipulator
      3. Pessimist
      4. Dramatic
      5. Hero Syndrome
      6. The Victim
      7. Lethargic
    4. Understanding Motivation for Difficult Behaviors
  3. Communication
    1. The Communication Loop
      1. The Sender
      2. The Receiver
      3. The Message
      4. Feedback
      5. Noise
      6. Filters
    2. Different Forms of Communication
      1. Verbal Communication
      2. Nonverbal Communication
      3. Voice Intonation
      4. Physical Behavior
      5. Facial Expression
      6. Physical Stance and Movement
      7. Culture and Physical Behavior
    3. Constructive Feedback
      1. Restating the Message
      2. Offering Criticism
      3. Communicating Goals
    4. Feedback and Communication Tools
      1. Patience
      2. Listening
      3. Avoiding Assumptions
      4. Phrasing and Rephrasing
      5. Visual Aids
  4. Setting Boundaries
    1. Boundaries
    2. Communicating Boundaries and Consequences
      1. Consequences
    3. Negotiating Terms
      1. Win-Win Negotiations
      2. Compromise
      3. Healthy Boundary Concepts
    4. Enforcing Boundaries
      1. Evaluating Consequences
      2. Measuring Behavior
      3. Rubrics
  5. Handling Conflict
    1. Confronting the Difficult Personality
      1. Safety Issues
      2. Find a Watchdog
      3. Open Doors
      4. The Nature of the Relationship
      5. Confronting a Higher Authority
      6. Confronting a Subordinate
      7. Confronting a Peer
      8. Emotional Escalation
    2. Negotiation Techniques
      1. Process
      2. Preparation
      3. Know Your Resources
      4. Motivation
      5. Conclusion
      6. Behavior
      7. Negotiation Styles
      8. Emotion in Negotiations
      9. Positive Emotions
      10. Negative Emotions
      11. Substance
      12. Understand Everyone's Needs
      13. Win-win or Win-lose
    3. Mediation
      1. Choosing a Mediator
    4. Applying Formal Consequences
      1. Documentation

Class Materials

Each student will receive a comprehensive set of materials, including course notes and all the class examples.

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