In the last in a series of four edited extracts from Managing Conflict, the new book in the Lessons Learned series from Harvard Business School Press and Fifty Lessons, Dawn Airey, director of global content at ITV, explains that people need to be dealt with as soon as possible.

LESSON SUMMARY POINTS:

1. In the work environment there will always be some individuals with whom you gel more than others. The trick is to know how to manage the difficult or high-maintenance individuals.

2. Challenging difficult individuals' behavior can either lead to a productive working relationship or it may cause them to leave the organisation. As a leader, however, you must act; simply ignoring the situation is not a viable option.

3. Tackle situations with difficult individuals head on. If the pain of working with them outweighs the gain, it's time to consider whether they really have a future at the company.

This article is by extracted from the latest book in the Lessons Learned series, Managing Conflict; Copyright (c) 2007 Fifty Lessons Limited; All Rights Reserved. For more on the series see www.fiftylessons.com

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