Badly Behaved People: How to deal with idiots at work

Zena Everett is an expert in communication, an international leadership coach, and a highly sought-after speaker. She is also the author of Mind Flip and the award-winning The Crazy Busy Cure.

Badly Behaved People is not your typical business book; it features a unique format that combines elements of a business guide with an agony aunt approach. The book addresses 15 common problem personalities through real-life case studies. Readers will recognise challenging personality types and learn how to deal with them proactively and positively using practical tools and coaching questions. The goal is to understand yourself and your colleagues better, repair connections, and restore a sense of belonging and cohesion in the workplace.

Each chapter is designed like a short story, with theory and explanations woven throughout. Readers will likely identify with at least one story, thinking, Thats me, and will learn how to make positive changes in their own relationships.

Key features of the book includes:

• Improved understanding of others and enhanced communication skills
• 15 real workplace stories that illustrate conflict resolution, dialogue restoration, and solutions for interpersonal challenges
• Practical tools to help find common ground and foster a sense of belonging

By exploring the content, readers will gain insights into themselves, learn to control negative thinking, and uncover their blind spots. Each chapter is practical and actionable, featuring useful tools and coaching questions.

Table of Contents

1:  Coaching: were all at it 

2. Context to the case studies: True stories about you and your colleagues

Case Studies:

3. My star performer is underperforming. 

4. My team cant take criticism. 

5. Im not good enough for this role. 

6. I hate speaking in front of senior leaders. 

7. Im the office scapegoat.

8. How do I ignite a demotivated team? 

9. Im stuck, everyone else is doing better than me. 

10. Im doing my teams work as well as my own. 

11. Im too busy, with no time to think. 

12. My manager is too soft and the way she works is chaotic. 

13. I work for a toxic narcissist. 

14. Managing a cocky show-off. 

15. I need to speak up more. 

16. Negative colleagues drag me down

17. Why cant he control his temper?

18. Why doesnt anyone listen to me?

19. Five rules for better work relationships

Patterns from the case studies