Managing Difficult Personalities in the Workplace

Interpersonal conflict exists in the modern healthcare workplace because individuals bring a diversity of thought, skillsets, and worldviews to the table while working within an imperfect system. Effectively managing people requires a comprehensive understanding of the various personality types one may encounter, a deep analysis of the underlying causes of challenging behavior, and the creative utilization of this knowledge to develop a skillset for resolving conflict. In healthcare where providers are essentially “people managers” with the added high stakes of providing quality patient care, having the skillset to adroitly manage difficult personalities is a vital asset.