In addition to coaching the person directly involved and/or the manager, it is possible to strengthen the capabilities of the rest of the team by sharing communication and negotiation techniques for dealing with difficult people. This is particularly useful when there are marked differences within the team, with some members suffering more from the difficult person’s behaviour while others have already developed effective strategies and are less affected by the situation.

By modelling functional behaviours within the team, the development of the whole team is encouraged.

A special case in which this approach does not work is when there are two difficult people in the team who are involved in a personal conflict. In that case, involving everyone else may be perceived as a waste of time or as unfair (“If the problem is between them, why should we be involved?”). In such situations, it is often more appropriate to address the issue directly with the people concerned individually or through mediation.