I was in awe of the magnitude of over 8,000 educators as they entered the Berry Center to attend the 2018 Cy-Fair ISD Professional Development Conference. To be a workshop presenter among such passionate and committed professionals was quite an honor and a daunting task. As I have traveled and presented seminars both in the U.S. and internationally, I have witnessed a common thread within organizations and the workplace. This thread significantly affects performance and productivity on every level. So….what is this common thread?? The skill of “being able to get along with others” is the thread that researchers refer to as the greatest determiner of personal and professional success.
Since strangling someone is not an option, we have to find saner ways to deal with those we “cannot stand” or more nicely stated, “people who are quite difficult”. This is why I created and presented the workshop entitled, “The “Tank”, the “Sniper”, the “Space Cadet”, the “Whiner”, the “Know-it-All”: How to Deal Effectively with the most Difficult Personality Types.
As I presented 15 workshops during the week, I was surrounded by such amazing conference participants who laughed, interacted and bonded with myself and others because no one is immune to having at least one difficult person in his/her life. Who doesn’t want to be equipped with some never-seen-before strategies for detaching, confronting unacceptable behavior, disengaging from power struggles, and being at peace… even when everyone around you is in an uproar? Thank you workshop participants for inspiring me with your passion and willingness to learn and actually practice some new tools for your people skills toolbox!