Troublemakers in the Office

How to cope with the 10% who are really difficult

In Shepherd Mead's satire How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, officeworkers are so committed to devious little games and personality conflicts that everyone seems to have forgotten what it is that the company produces and sells. In fact, a good deal of fiction has depicted the office as a war zone of neurotic combat. But according to Management Consultant Robert M. Bramson, 54, who studies such matters, that concept is unfair. Only 10% of officeworkers are relentlessly difficult, says Bramson, and anyone can learn how to cope with this troublesome minority.

Over the past few years, Bramson has studied the behavior of some 400 managers and other workers at dozens of companies and public agencies. He has concluded that they, like Gaul, are divided into three parts: 10% troublemakers, 70% unable to cope with troublemakers and 20% not bothered by troublemakers. By paying particular attention to the manner and techniques of the resilient 20%, he has constructed a strategy for achieving office harmony and teaches it (for $1,000 a session) to employers and employees alike at daylong seminars throughout California.

Bramson's "method-oriented" program is designed around a basic premise: "People who are difficult have learned that behavior precisely because in the short run it has worked for them. The reason the bad behavior works is that it elicits predictable, typical reactions from other people."

Bramson has identified several categories of troublemakers--hostile-aggressives, complainers, indecisives, unresponsives and know-it-alls--and in his seminars suggests how to cope with each. The Bramson way:

Hostile-aggressives. There are three subspecies in this category--"Sherman tanks," "snipers" and "exploders"--and the basic strategy for dealing with all of them is not to rise to the bait. The Shermans are straight-ahead pushy folk known for their jabbing fingers, loud talk and complete knowledge of what is good for their fellow workers. "You have to stand up to him, but don't fight," says Bramson. His advice: look Sherman straight in the eye, call him by name and state your disagreement with defusing phrases such as "in my opinion," and "it's my judgment that ..." Then let the tank blow off some steam. Says Bramson: "Sherman tanks are experts at escalating. If you fight you lose."

Snipers shoot at people through the camouflage of sarcasm or irony and should be asked to explain and expand their remarks. "Smoke them out," says Bramson. "Make them be overt in their attack, or backtrack. Don't push. It's hard for hostile people to lose face. Let them get put from under their attack." The behavior of exploders--sudden yelling, cursing or crying--requires no action at all. Simply let the tirade or crying jag spin itself out and end in a guilty apology. If that fails, Bramson recommends a distancing line: "This is a very serious matter, but we can't handle it this way." The final line of defense is to leave the room, saying you will return in five minutes.

Complainers lace their speech with "always" and "never," and usually insist on sitting down before detailing their gripes--the fellow who complains standing up wants action, but the sitter wants to whine in comfort. It is a serious mistake either to agree or disagree with complainers. Instead, says Bramson, paraphrase the whiners' complaints back to them with "limiting concrete statements that let them know you understand." Noncommittal but encouraging "urns" and "ahs" are helpful too.

Indecisives come in two varieties: "analysts," who are afraid of making a mistake, and "be-nicers" who are afraid of making enemies. Bramson says analysts should be given plenty of documentation: if a memo has complicated figures, attach the adding machine slip or a note saying "I've checked these numbers." Despite their indecision, he says, analysts respond well to deadlines, if the lead time is stretched a bit. In dealing with be-nice people, the point is to keep the employee talking long enough to find out what is really going on. Don't push, or an impulsive decision will result, and never show enthusiasm, which indecisives find alarming. Instead, appeal to the employee's sense of what is best for the company, which usually works. If this fails, says Bramson, keep the initiative by saying something like "I'll be back Thursday to see where we are."

Unresponsives are too frightened, confused or hostile to discuss matters. Bramson suggests trying to outwait them: stare at them in a friendly fashion, but say nothing. As the growing silence produces anxiety, throw your eyebrows up expectantly. Chances are the unresponsive will break first, particularly if you have practiced coping with awkward silences yourself.

Know-it-alls come in two types: "real experts," who are right about 75% of the time, and "phony experts," who are inept and usually wrong. The real experts are highly valuable, but dogmatic, stubborn and often "so superior in tone that they make others feel useless." Co-workers who must face a know-it-all should do their homework carefully, and instead of arguing, ask "extensional" questions, such as "How will this approach work with our five lands of customers?" The questions may lead know-it-alls to see their errors because they are among the few troublemakers "who can be influenced by clear logic, especially if their logic is off." If the know-it-all is too intimidating, says Bramson, an employee might want to knuckle under. "Take a frank, subordinate stance as an alternative to sitting and seething. If nothing else, it will relieve tension."

Though Bramson's advice may strike some as manipulative, he prefers to call it "managing your own behavior." His argument: candor and self-assertiveness are valuable tools, but they are not automatically useful in getting along with difficult colleagues. Says he: "People should do something different from what comes naturally. Being candid is always worth trying once, but it won't always solve the problem." Bramson also has a surefire cure for office problems, but it may not be practical for too many employees. "The best way to cope with difficult people," he says, "is to get as far away from them as you can."

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