Dealing With Difficult Behaviours - Melbourne

Dealing With Difficult Behaviours - Melbourne

You know that person. The one who derails every meeting with off-topic complaints, the colleague who passive-aggressively undermines your projects, or the team member who explodes at the smallest setback. We've all been there, trying to figure out how to handle someone whose behaviour makes everyone else's job harder. It's exhausting, and frankly, most of us weren't taught how to deal with this stuff when we started our careers.

Here's the thing - difficult behaviour isn't going anywhere. In fact, with workplace stress at an all-time high and remote teams adding new communication challenges, you're probably dealing with more tricky personalities than ever before. The good news? There are proven strategies that actually work, and they don't require you to become a therapist or completely change who you are.

This isn't about learning to love difficult people or pretending their behaviour doesn't affect you. It's about giving you practical tools to handle these situations professionally while protecting your own wellbeing and productivity. You'll learn how to recognise the difference between someone having a bad day and patterns of behaviour that need addressing. More importantly, you'll discover how to respond in ways that either improve the situation or at least prevent it from getting worse.

We'll dive into real scenarios you've probably faced - the chronic complainer who sucks the energy out of your team, the micromanager who questions every decision, the colleague who takes credit for your work, and the person who seems to create drama wherever they go. Through practical exercises and role-playing, you'll practice techniques that help you stay calm, set clear boundaries, and communicate effectively even when tensions are high.

One of the biggest challenges people face is knowing when to address behaviour directly versus when to involve management. We'll cover how to have those tough conversations without making things worse, plus when it's time to escalate to leadership for support. You'll also learn to recognise your own triggers and develop strategies to manage your emotional responses when dealing with challenging personalities.

What You'll Learn

You'll walk away knowing how to identify different types of difficult behaviour and what typically drives them. We'll teach you specific conversation techniques that help de-escalate tense situations and prevent minor issues from becoming major conflicts. You'll practice setting professional boundaries that stick, without coming across as confrontational or unprofessional.

You'll also learn how to document behaviour patterns effectively, which is crucial if you need to involve HR or management later. We cover how to protect your own mental health while dealing with challenging colleagues, including techniques for managing stress and maintaining your professional reputation.

Perhaps most importantly, you'll discover how to separate the person from the behaviour, which helps you respond more objectively and often more effectively. This includes understanding when someone's difficult behaviour might actually be a sign they're struggling with workplace stress, personal issues, or simply don't have the skills they need to communicate better.

The Bottom Line

After this session, you'll feel more confident handling workplace conflicts and challenging personalities. Instead of dreading interactions with difficult colleagues or losing sleep over workplace drama, you'll have a toolkit of practical strategies you can use immediately. Most participants tell us they wish they'd learned these skills years earlier - it would have saved them countless hours of stress and frustration.

This training gives you permission to protect your own wellbeing while still being a supportive team member. You'll know how to respond professionally to behaviour that used to throw you off balance, and you'll understand when to seek support from supervisors or HR. The result? Better relationships, less workplace stress, and more energy to focus on the work you actually enjoy.