tips on dealing with dif ficult people
Dealing with someone who makes personal attacks
1. Ignore the attacks and focus on the issues;
2. Try to determine if you did anything to upset them and if so,
apologize;
3. Set ground rules for behaviour; or
4. Use an “I” statement to indicate that attacks are not helpful.
Dealing with someone who is stubborn and positional
1. Separate the people from the problem and focus on the problem.
2. Show that you are open to being persuaded by them and that their
view has merit.
3. Look for creative ways to accept their position and add in what
you need.
4. Talk about how you will both be worse off if they won’t budge
and an agreement cannot be reached.
Dealing with someone who lies or is untrustworthy
1. Ask yourself whether the lie is about something important or just
puffery.
2. Ask for proof/third party verification.
3. Outline the impact on future interactions if present discussion is
based on lie/misinformation.
4. Build in a consequence that will occur if they have lied.
Dealing With Difficult People Workshop dates:
Toronto: February 4-6, May 11-13
Ottawa: February 18-20
Windsor: April 15-17
“I would recommend this course to
any HR Professional.”
- Susan Broniek, HR
Toral Cast Precision Technologies
Mississauga
“Instructor was hilarious, intelligent
and a great communicator.
Role plays and exercises were
great. I loved the opportunities to
practise with different individuals.”
- Alicia Bone, HR
Vicwest, Oakville
Contact us t o spea k to a n in structor
GROUP
1.800.318.9741 | con tact@adr.ca | sfhgr oup.com
talent management, change management,
leadership development and cultural
transformation – delivering competitive
advantage, business sustainability and,
ultimately, profits and leadership in the
communities within which we operate.
And that is the business of HR.
NEW COMPETENCY
FRAMEWORK
HRPA’s new competency framework that
was released late last year is helping to give
shape to this new professionalization of
the HR profession.
Developed over 18 months in
co-operation with leading HR academics,
HR professionals at all levels and senior
business leaders, the new framework is a
completely modernized snapshot of HR
practice in the 21st century.
The framework defines 213 functional
competencies and 15 enabling competencies
(things like business acumen, critical
thinking, negotiation, project management,
employment law) at each of three
levels of HR practice – entry, professional
and executive. This granularity is essential
for the creation of assessment tools and
the development of prep programs, education
courses and curricula.
And most importantly, it’s a
competency-based certification framework
that not only tests an updated body
of HR knowledge, but the ability to apply
that knowledge – similar to other Tier
1 professions including law, medicine or
engineering.
It’s a framework that places a great
deal of importance on the rigor of the
certification process, which befits the seriousness
of present-day HR practice.
The more complex the work of a profession,
the higher the level of competence
required; and the greater the consequences
of incompetence, the more thorough the
certification process must be. The protection
of the public is enabled by requiring
HR professionals to meet and exceed
those standards. Indeed, this is a very exciting
time and I am most excited about
the evolving roles and the future human
resources professionals. ■
Phil Wilson, CHRE is chair of the Human
Resources Professionals Association
(HRPA).
8 ❚ FEBRUARY 2015 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL