By Neal Flesner, MIPI

Many construction professionals I work with say that people skills are equally important, if not more important, than technical ability is for achieving professional success. We all come across challenging individuals with difficult personalities from time to time, and that’s when our people skills really make a difference.

The larger the project, the greater the likelihood that you will encounter an unruly personality who can adversely impact the schedule, cost and overall success of your project (not to mention the havoc they can wreak on your sanity and the sanity of others on your team). Since uncooperative people on any project not only pose a risk to the team dynamics, but also to the schedule and budget, it’s important to prepare for this challenge, and have a strategy in place to mitigate it. This is an essential subject our team addresses during the initial partnering sessions we facilitate.

I recently had the opportunity to share my insights on the topic of “Dealing with Difficult People” with more than 150 construction profe