There are potentially seven different types of difficult people you could be working with right now.
I think I’ve meet most the “types” at one time or another. I’m no expert in workplace psychology, but have found most people’s “inclination” to be difficult takes root in either a personal unhappiness and/or insecurity.
The first type, the Aggressor, has three sub-types: the Tank, the Sniper and the Exploder. The Tank is an insensitive brute who simply drives through or over anything in their path. Sometimes it is best to let these types run out of fuel; at other times you need to interrupt sharply. The Sniper is the smiling assassin who delivers snide remarks in a pleasant manner and uses innuendo and rumour to demolish their target. You need to smoke these types out. Make them say precisely what they mean and don’t buy into their rumour-mongering. The Exploder, like the Tank, can be left to run down. Save your energy for when things are calmer, or if you have to, get in with a neutral word like “stop”.
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