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You’ve been awake at night, worrying about the difficult person at work…or maybe it’s someone in your personal life.  You like being helpful but this person is making you feel awful, worrying, negative and not okay about yourself. Maybe you feel like your life is spiralling out of control and you wish they would change.

Well, the good news is that something can change.  They are very happy being and doing what makes them happy and not concerned with your feelings. There is only one person that can change….and it’s not going to be them. As much as you may not want to hear this, it is you and your thinking and ongoing actions, that need to learn some new skills for yourself.

Awkward people and challenging situations vary for each person in business. They can range from an employee who displays negativity, won’t work as part of a group, an angry customer or one with high expectations, a co-worker who off loads their work, a lazy employee or a tricky boss. All these situations have negative emotions of powerlessness attached to them by one or both of the involved parties and they’re uncomfortable and can be downright challenging.

Personal development skills are critical for adult behaviour in our professional lives, however, many people are lacking in them and fail to establish win/win situations with their peers and clients and be responsible and self-reliant.

Everyone in an office has a different role to undertake. Albeit, understanding, caring and integrity are old-fashioned values that are still critical to success.

The frontline workers are essential to the smooth running of an office. Unfortunately, they’re sometimes taken for granted and not valued. These caring people like to help but are often trampled by other staff members and disgruntled customers. They need to be cherished because when they’re away the office can turn to chaos.

At a recent workshop I had two frontline staff with different approaches to their job. One member had a salesperson who wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, until she went to walk out the door. The second person was phoned at 11.00 pm with questions from a salesperson (who couldn’t use a computer) and worked (unpaid) during the weekend to catch up so she could cope with her workload.

One person had found the answer for dealing with a tricky situation the other had not.

Additionally, there’s the old school of thinking which is outdated and unprofessional versus the new school. We’re in the age of modern technology and connecting our mobile phone to a laptop. However, for some people this is way beyond their comprehension, let alone sending an email or an ezine to their new client with the week’s open homes, or delving into the company’s web page to find the relevant information they need. An agent could get into a tricky situation and lose a sale if a client asks for information to be emailed to them and the agent doesn’t know how to use the office technology. Instead of off-loading the task, if they want to make a sale, they need to be responsible for themselves.

Here are some solutions

Take Personal Responsibility

Take it…for everything you do. Learn and learn some more…be able to run your business individually. Be self-reliant, use your manners and care for people.