Project Manager Sherry Martin couldn’t stop thinking about her last team meeting as she walked down the hall towards her office. Slamming her office door behind her, she let out an exasperated scream and looked for something to punch! Her team was driving her absolutely crazy and she channelled Scarlett O’Hara as she proclaimed, “I will never run a meeting like that again!” Her problem in a nutshell boiled down to three really difficult personalities that continually recurred on her team. These personalities were indeed a cancer not just infecting the team and its results but also spreading throughout the group and impacting the other team members as well.

Sherry needs an antidote… now!

Here’s a little help for Sherry, and for you! Let’s explore these common dysfunctional personalities and how to effectively manage them.

The Dominator

We’ve all experienced “the dominator” in one-way or another. Some people tend to dominate discussion simply because they’re excited and overzealous. These can actually be assets to the team if we can find appropriate approaches to harness and manage all that positive energy. Unfortunately, most of us are more familiar with the other type of dominator – the overly aggressive, bullying personality that tramples on others’ comments and may attempt to hijack the meeting completely! Sometimes, these dominators are overly negative “That’ll never work here!”), and other times they just won’t let anyone else get a word in edgewise. In either case, dominators can certainly sour not just the effectiveness of the meeting, but also the morale of the team.

Read more at Project Smart.