Group Dynamics: Dealing with Difficult Colleagues

Abstract

In the last chapter, we talked about how to get along with – as well as work alongside – people with a variety of personality types. In this chapter, we take a closer look at how to cope with labmates and colleagues whose behaviour could be labelled as ‘difficult’. By difficult we mean the kind of person who has a severe personality quirk, and can toss major obstacles your way that create roadblocks to your progress. Why are some people difficult to work with and be around? We’ll leave the answer to that thorny question to the psychologists and psychiatrists among us. In the meantime, if you’ve got a difficult individual in your midst, you need clear strategies to minimize any potential damage they can cause to your progress and your career. If If you learn how to cope with contrary colleagues early in your career, particularly in the competitive atmosphere of a lab, you’ll develop valuable coping and people-management skills that will serve you time and again, wherever your career path takes you.