{"id":338,"date":"2010-02-04T01:50:16","date_gmt":"2010-02-04T06:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dwaynephillips.net\/workingup\/?p=338"},"modified":"2010-02-02T19:09:32","modified_gmt":"2010-02-03T00:09:32","slug":"difficult-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dwaynephillips.net\/workingup\/2010\/02\/difficult-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Difficult People"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Dwayne Phillips<\/p>\n

I have worked with many difficult people. Or is it that I have had difficulty working with many different people? The difference is that have used different words. I have reframed the situation. Reframing is a powerful tool when working with difficult people and in difficult situations.<\/strong><\/p>\n

About a year ago, I was looking for a job. One of the companies that interviewed me was quite candid in stating, “The customer that you will work with every day is a difficult person.”<\/p>\n

I didn’t pursue that job. I have worked with many “difficult people” through the years. I won’t go into the details. A thread that was common for most of these work situation is that I would say, “So-and-so is difficult to work with.”<\/p>\n

Notice my oft-stated words: the problem<\/em> is with So-and-so<\/em>. They<\/em> are difficult. They<\/em> are the source of the problems. Me? Little old me? Well, I’m an innocent bystander thrust into the lion’s den of working with that difficult person. What could I possibly do?<\/p>\n

One thing I could do is reframe the situation, i.e. change the way I describe the situation, change my words, and change the attitude that chooses the words. Instead of<\/p>\n

So-and-so is difficult to work with.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I could say<\/p>\n

I have difficulty working with So-and-so.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The subject of the reframe is me. I have difficulty; I could do something, and I have hope and I have choice. Some of my choices are:<\/p>\n