THE SCIENCE OF MANAGING DIFFICULT

PERSONALITIES
MODULE 3 – NEGATIVE PERSONALITIES

5-STEP SCRIPT FOR TRANSFORMING

NEGATIVITY
› Negative personalities have a skewed worldview that causes
them to filter the facts through a set of irrational beliefs. This
leads to a negative interpretation of the facts resulting in
emotional reactions seen in the behaviors that make these folks
so challenging. Managing Negative personalities requires gently
debunking the irrational beliefs

› Use this 5-step process to help staunch the spiral of negativity

and help debunk negative thoughts. Use this script in one-on-
one conversations as well as public settings like meetings.

STEP 1 › What supposedly negative event is happening right now?

E.g. My career progress is going to stop because I’m going to have
a new boss.

STEP 2 › What are your underlying assumptions about this?

E.g. I can’t adapt to a new boss.

STEP 3 › Given your underlying assumptions, what is going to

happen to you and how will that make you feel?
E.g. I’ll be unhappy, frustrated, stifled in my professional growth
and hate my career.

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Ó 2019 Leadership IQ. All Rights Reserved.
 STEP 4 › Answer these questions and assess whether your
underlying assumptions are rational:
1. Is my thinking based on obvious facts?
E.g. Well, there was one time I did adapt to a new boss.
2. What are the counterarguments to these beliefs?
E.g. That one time it did work to my benefit and I was really
happy and successful.
3. Will my thinking here help me achieve my short-term and
long-term goals?
E.g. No. I need to rewrite my beliefs.

STEP 5 › Write new rational replacements for the assumptions you

made in Step 2.
E.g. If my belief that I can’t adapt to a new boss is wrong, then
my new belief must be that I can adapt to a new boss.

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Ó 2019 Leadership IQ. All Rights Reserved.