Citation
Stewart, J. and Couper, D. (2002), "38 Activities for Handling Difficult Situations", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 233-234. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj.2002.23.4.233.4
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
The basic premise of this training resource is that we all encounter difficult situations almost every day of the week, whether as colleagues, subordinates, customer‐service personnel or even as customers ourselves. This resource is designed to help us cope better with a range of them, through role‐play, case study, discussions, simulations or questionnaires.
The looseleaf ringbinder contains 38 photocopiable activities, each with briefing notes and advice for trainers. It is divided into seven parts, each containing about five or six activities grouped according to whether they are role‐plays, case studies, discussions, icebreakers, questionnaire, simulations or just “activities”. Topics range from those relating to customer service (e.g. “cranky customers are always right” and “customer care crisis”) those aimed at subordinates dealing with difficult bosses (e.g. “how to handle a sudden request for a presentation” or “how to deal with the boss who steals your ideas”), those aimed at managers (such as “‘dismissal interview” or interview to “counsel employee who is producing substandard work”, to those aimed at dealing with difficult colleagues (e.g. “tricky team types”).
Some of the activities are excellent (e.g. some of the case studies), but others only mediocre (such as some of the discussions). My main gripe with the resource (apart from the cost), however, is that its remit seems too broad and would thus only suit trainers or managers who come across a wide range of “difficult situations”. For example, I would have liked to have seen more activities based on improving customer care, but no doubt other readers would prefer a heavier emphasis on dealing with difficult subordinates. However, as a resource for training personnel with wide remits, this is definitely worth a look.