Dealing with Difficult People

Learn how to deal with difficult colleagues and clients.

At the heart of dealing with difficult people is handling their—and your own—emotions. How do you stay calm in a tough conversation? How do you stay unruffled in the face of passive-aggressive comments? And how do you know if you're difficult to work with?

This book explains the research behind our emotional response to awful colleagues and shows how to build the empathy and resilience to make those relationships more productive.

Books in this series are based on the work of experts including Daniel Goleman, Tony Schwartz, Nick Morgan, and Daniel Gilbert.

This collection of articles includes "To Resolve a Conflict, First Decide: Is It Hot or Cold?" by Mark Gerzon; "Taking the Stress Out of Stressful Conversations," by Holly Weeks; "The Secret to Dealing with Difficult People: It's About You," by Tony Schwartz; "How to Deal with a Mean Colleague," by Amy Gallo; "How To Deal with a Passive-Aggressive Colleague," by Amy Gallo; "How to Work with Someone Who's Always Stressed Out," by Rebecca Knight; "How to Manage Someone Who Thinks Everything Is Urgent," by Liz Kislik; and "Do You Hate Your Boss?" by Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries.

  1. Pouvoirs et influence

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

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  2. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leading with Purpose

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  3. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Employee Engagement

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  4. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership, Updated and Expanded (featuring "Begin with Trust" by Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss)

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  5. The Year in Tech, 2026 : The Insights You Need from Harvard Business Review

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Scott D. Anthony, Amy Webb, José Parra-Moyano, Christina Shim

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  6. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself, Updated and Expanded (featuring "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Peter F. Drucker, Amy Gallo, Amy Jen Sue, Clayton M. Christensen

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  7. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy, Updated and Expanded (featuring "The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy" by Michael E. Porter)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

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  8. HBR's 10 Must Reads 2026 : The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review (featuring "The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift" by Kevin Evers)

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  9. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Change Management, Updated and Expanded (featuring "Leading Change" by John P. Kotter)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, John P. Kotter, Frances Frei, Vijay Govindarajan, Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez

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  10. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Emotional Intelligence, Updated and Expanded (featuring "What Makes a Leader" by Daniel Goleman)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review

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  11. HBR's 10 Must Reads on Mental Toughness, Updated and Expanded (featuring "How to Stop Worrying About What Other People Think of You" by Michael Gervais)

    Harvard Harvard Business Review, Michael Gervais, Angela L. Duckworth, Martin E. P. Seligman, Herminia Ibarra

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  12. HBR's 10 Must Reads on High Performance, Updated and Expanded (featuring "Nine Things Successful People Do Differently" by Heidi Grant)

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