How do you deal with a difficult coworker professionally?
- Do examine your own behavior before blaming the other person. ...
- Don't let it get personal. ...
- Do communicate what issues you're having. ...
- Don't get baited into unprofessional behavior. ...
- Do remind yourself of what you stand to gain by working with this person.
- Help them get perspective or move on. This month, I worked on a team where one person was overly wrapped up in her own drama. ...
- Help them express themselves. ...
- Be direct. ...
- Let Crabby Cathy be just that. ...
- Show your empathy.
- Be objective and give context. The first thing you do not want to do in an interview setting after being asked this question is engage in a blame game. ...
- Detail how you resolved the situation. ...
- Explain what you learnt from the experience.
- Start by identifying the root cause. ...
- Don't get defensive, stay calm. ...
- Know when and how to bring in support. ...
- Understand when to escalate.
- Choose your battles. Don't get sucked into the emotional games of your toxic co-worker. ...
- Make the toxic behaviour visible and 'on the record' ...
- Develop allies. ...
- Hold onto your integrity. ...
- Fix Your team. ...
- About Rose Bryant-Smith.
When you need to address rudeness, talk to the offender somewhere private. Stay calm and objective as you outline the facts as you know them, explain the negative impact of his or her behavior and how it made other people feel, and make it clear how you want him to modify his behavior.
- Develop Your Self-awareness.
- Be Assertive and Set Boundaries.
- Listen. Then Listen Some More.
- Give Feedback.
Setting clear expectations is important when managing difficult people because there is less room for argument. When you have clearly stated what you need, you then have the ability to speak to them about poor performance if they don't do what you needed them to.
- Use Lots of Kindness. Look, I get it. ...
- Be Compassionate. Ever heard that saying about dealing with your own problems? ...
- Find Something in Common. ...
- Stay Calm. ...
- Share Your Side. ...
- Treat with Respect. ...
- Ignore Them. ...
- Control What You Can.
When answering this kind of question, aim to provide a specific example that emphasizes how your management style helped improve an employee's performance. Be prepared to explain how you decided to handle the issue the way you did. In your response, show the steps you took and how you approached the situation.
What are the four types of difficult people?
- The “Yes, but…” person. The “Yes, but…” person is one who discounts or rejects just about everything you say. ...
- The Always Suspicious. The suspicious person is controlled by fear on some level which makes the establishment of rapport difficult. ...
- The Hostile. ...
- The Challenger.
- Acknowledge the problem. A. ...
- Be direct and talk about it. Speak to your team member about the problem. ...
- Listen. ...
- Come up with a solution for the difficult team member. ...
- Stay professional. ...
- Pay attention and follow up. ...
- Know when to escalate.

- If it's just one person, make friends with everyone else. ...
- Make new work connections. ...
- Wait and see. ...
- Make an exit plan. ...
- Try to view this person as a mirror. ...
- Use these qualities to form “I” statements when you confront the person.
A toxic coworker is considered to be someone who is rude, aggressive, confrontational and disrespectful. They're seemingly always unsatisfied with their position and the job at hand. This trait can express itself through their words, their behavior and body language, or even their productivity and work output.