Dealing with difficult people

Every individual and every business is unique. As are the people you deal with regularly - customers, suppliers, officials, professionals - the list is endless.

Most people are easy to deal with; some are not. So how do you handle that small number who seem ready, willing and able to give you a hard time?

The first thing is to take a good look at yourself. Make sure you know what makes you tick. Be honest about your own strengths and weaknesses. Before you can successfully tackle difficult people you need to make sure you are on solid ground.

Do you make your views known readily? Do others know your prejudices? Are you a good listener? How would those who know you describe your personality? Would there be any surprises?

These are just some of the questions you might ask yourself. They are also at the heart of coaching and feature strongly in the development of emotional competence.

Emotional competence (EQ) is the 'people skills' equivalent of IQ. Most of us can think of someone we have dealt with who has great knowledge or expertise; but lacks the ability to make you feel really comfortable in their presence.

Maybe you have been given information by someone but felt unable to ask questions. Or told something you did not understand and just did not feel you could ask again.

People who are 'emotionally competent' do not make people feel like that. They are aware of the impact they have on others. They adapt their communication style to make sure they get their message across.

Click here to contact me and find out more about dealing with difficult people.

The business benefits of coaching

Coaching focuses on the development needs of teams and individuals. It is not based on a syllabus of business theory. The specific needs of the individual are taken as the starting point.

By concentrating on critical issues, coaching develops the skills and confidence needed to boost performance. This makes coaching a highly cost effective solution for developing excellent managers and leaders.

Coaching delivers -

• flexibility - scheduled around the work demands of each individual
• motivation - investing in people capitalises on their strengths and skills
• loyalty - your commitment to an individual's development reaps rewards
• measured outcomes - performance is benchmarked at the outset; milestone reviews measure progress and outcomes are mesured against original SMART objectives

Above all, those taking part become excellent planners, decision makers, problem solvers and communicators. They will practice what they preach and use coaching techniques to get the most out of people.

Coaching is now the most popular method used by business to develop their managers and leaders. It is very cost effective and its flexibilty means minimum work interruptions.