Blog · 22 December 2025
Handling difficult personalities: the skill that changes everything
Every leader runs into puzzling behavior at some point in their work:
- aggressiveness,
- passivity,
- bad faith,
- overflowing emotions,
- sabotaging attitudes.
Handling these situations takes the ability to step back and a good neuro-behavioral reading.
Key principles:
1. Separate the person from the behavior
- Never attack who someone is: criticise the behaviour, not the person.
2. Understand the underlying needs
- Aggressiveness often hides fear.
- Passivity often hides a need for clarity.
3. Use the win-win stance
- Look for a shared solution rather than imposing one.
A short story:
A team member kept contradicting his manager. Taking the stance of someone who doesn’t know, she asked him:
“What would make you feel safer in your role?” He started talking… For the first time, he expressed his need and what he expected from his manager.
The aggressive behavior disappeared within two weeks.