10 Adversarial Personalities You Might Meet at Work
When it comes to dealing with a difficult personality in a working environment, the ability to identify and specify what makes this person adversarial is crucial. Not only can this help determine how to best approach and work with this person, but it can also allow you to communicate to others which problems are present and which solutions are most effective.
The following list describes the major archetypes that can often become adversarial and offers appropriate solutions for managers to help mitigate issues.
The Controller
Issues: Compelled to oversee every detail or withhold information to maintain control; poor communicator; often driven by past failures.
Solutions: Transparent, consistent communication; reassurance of competence; holding them accountable for sharing information.
The Indirect Operator
Issues: Uses sarcasm, negativity, or indirect digs to destabilize others; resists solutions; may mask insecurity.
Solutions: Recognize their contributions, provide clarity on role and expectations, and redirect toward constructive input.
The Self-Centered Expert
Issues: Equates autonomy with getting his or her own way; impatient; takes credit for others’ work; alienates teammates.
Solutions: Exercise strong leadership to set boundaries; recognize employee for genuine contributions; assign challenges that require collaboration.
The Overextended Employee
Issues: Poor self-management; burnout; overcommits to gain recognition; may be slow-paced.
Solutions: Provide coaching on prioritization; acknowledge contributions; reduce their workload; possibly realign or reassign role.
The Self-Proclaimed (but Not) Overworked Employee
Issues: Inflates or dramatizes workload; signals busyness rather than actually producing; creates resentment from busy colleagues; lacks self-awareness about productivity.
Solutions: Establish clear, measurable performance metrics; require transparent workload tracking; coach on time management and task prioritization; require accountability for deliverables.
The Resistant Stakeholder
Issues: Ignores input, dismisses value, or deliberately stalls progress; may have hidden agendas.
Solutions: Bring in leadership for intervention; validate employee’s perspective; articulate a clear value proposition for them; make them accountable for responsiveness.
The Insecure Leader
Issues: Deflects responsibility; fosters blame culture; plays the victim; deeply insecure.
Solutions: Provide coaching in emotional regulation; provide/require leadership development; develop systems that discourage blame-shifting.
The Opportunist
Issues: Sows discord to advance self-interest; thrives on chaos; undermines trust.
Solutions: Enlist HR for oversight; set clear behavioral expectations; respond with swift consequences; possible removal.
The Manipulator
Issues: Undermines others’ perception of reality; shrewd and socially intelligent; low empathy.
Solutions: Engage leadership or HR for immediate intervention; limit employee’s influence; isolate or remove from the organization.
The Generic Disruptor
Issues: Blends attention-seeking, disruption, and refusal to align with norms.
Solutions: Engage in a diagnostic conversation to identify root cause; provide tailored coaching; set clear boundaries and consequences.
Michael Gips, CPP, is managing director of ESRM for a global risk advisory firm. He was the former chief global knowledge and learning officer at ASIS International, and is a current member of the technical committee for the forthcoming revision of ASIS’s standard on workplace violence prevention.
Sara Mosqueda, associate editor for Security Management, contributed to this article. Connect with her on LinkedIn or send her an email, [email protected].
