Communicating with Difficult People: Handling Difficult Co-Workers

Audience

Managers facilitators team leaders and professionals who want to identify cope with and resolve difficult behavior with co-workers.

Objective

• Identify types of difficult personalities.
• Identify examples of primary and secondary conflict.
• Apply proper techniques to turn destructive conflict into constructive conflict.
• Utilize proper methods to avoid advanced conflict.
• Apply the resolution process to solve coworker conflict.
• Recognize the characteristics that make mediation successful.

Topics Include

Unit 1: Recognizing a Difficult Co-worker

• Select examples of difficult behavior.
• Identify types of difficult personalities.
• Identify examples of primary and secondary conflict.
• Apply proper techniques to turn destructive conflict into constructive conflict.
• Simulation Overview:
• In this simulation you will meet with Cindy Becker a fellow team leader in Icon's Telecommunications Call Center. The two of you are expected to work together to develop programs and incentives for your individual teams but you are frustrated by what you perceive as Cindy's lack of enthusiasm and initiative. You are also required to share the responsibility for supervising the employees but you feel that she doesn't hold up her end of the partnership. When you meet to solve problems or work on joint projects she hesitates to contribute her ideas or opinions and ultimately you must take charge of the decision making. In this simulation you must seek to understand how her personality contributes to the workplace problems you experience with her and respond appropriately to those conflicts.

Unit 2: Coping with a Difficult Co-worker

• Apply the appropriate coping technique for each personality type.
• Identify options to diffuse a difficult situation.
• Utilize proper methods to avoid advanced conflict.
• Simulation Overview:
• In this simulation you will meet with Amanda Douglas on behalf of yourself and the other Customer Support Representatives to discuss how her poor attitude affects the morale of your department. Your supervisor has created a new employee incentive plan under which each employee has the task of setting both individual and group goals with the other Customer Support Reps as well as determining the individual and group rewards for meeting those goals. However Amanda has been skeptical about the new plan. Since other members of the team avoid working or socializing with her you are concerned that you all will be less successful in reaching your goals unless Amanda can be included and convinced of the importance of her participation.

Unit 3: Resolving Conflict

• Recognize the steps of the resolution process.
• Apply the resolution process to solve co-worker conflict.
• Identify examples of the best time to involve a conflict mediator.
• Recognize the characteristics that make mediation successful.
• Perform the appropriate action when a co-worker refuses to resolve the conflict.
• Simulation Overview:
• In this simulation you will meet with Marcus D'Angelo a co-worker in the Customer Relations department of Icon's Telecommunications division. Marcus is eager to do a good job and earn recognition for his work but he has a tendency to ''steal the spotlight'' from other employees especially if he senses an opportunity to gain favor with management. He has a reputation for bragging about his accomplishments and other employees have started steering clear of him in order to avoid hearing his success stories repeatedly. However it has come to your attention that he has been talking to your supervisors about an idea you discussed with him in the break room and passing it off as his own. Your idea has the potential to reduce the volume if incoming customer complaints and reduce the amount of money spent on regular outgoing customer communications and if it is implemented you want to receive credit for it. You must discuss the problem with Marcus and resolve any conflict that arises.

Duration

4

Minimum Requirements

The CDROM version of this course requires:

• At least a 486DX 33Mhz CPU.
• Microsoft Windows 3.1 or higher and a Microsoft compatible mouse.
• At least 8MB RAM.
• At least VGA graphics capability with a minimum 512K video RAM (1MB video RAM recommended).
• At least a double speed CDROM drive.
• An MPC compliant sound card with attached speakers or headphones is recommended (Currently only the CDROM version supports audio).

• At least a 486DX 33Mhz CPU.
• Microsoft Windows 3.1 or higher and a Microsoft compatible mouse.
• At least 8MB RAM and 22MB available hard disk space or file server space.
• At least VGA graphics capability with a minimum 512K video RAM (1MB video RAM recommended).

Media