How to Work Harmoniously with Difficult Personalities

Every workplace has one — a difficult, dominant type.

Photo by Alena Darmel

Almost every team has at least one dominant personality type who is motivated by winning, competition, and reaching results. While dominant personality types are often seen as commanding and confident, their characteristics have a flip side. They can also become obstinate, aggressive, and overly direct.

Take Gabe, a business development manager at a food and beverage company. Gabe was regarded as a “doer,” or someone who is outgoing and always up for a challenge. He was decisive, never hesitated, and took fast action to drive new sales. His demanding, assertive style landed the company new accounts, but it came at a cost. Gabe often upset senior leadership when he circumvented authority in order to push through new procedures. He also tended to fixate on sales targets to the detriment of long-term client relationships.

Working with someone like Gabe can be a challenge, especially if you’re on the opposite end of the personality spectrum. Many of my coaching clients, who tend to be reserved, empathetic, people-oriented professionals, struggle with dominant personalities. They find their dominant colleagues’ controlling, demanding nature hard to deal with, and many of my clients have difficulty standing their ground…