Passive Aggressive Personality
A Passive Aggressive personality is a disorder where an individual expresses negative energy indirectly through their actions. For instance, you decide unanimously as a team to undertake on a specific project. Someone who has this disorder will follow the bandwagon, but behave on the contrary. This could be by failing to attend meetings, or doing every possible action to sabotage the project.
Secrets to Handle a Passive Aggressive Personality
1. Identify Passive Aggressiveness
This can be easily identified by a pattern of passive aggressiveness behavior. Initialy, this can be a daunting task, especially when the traits are on a low level. Identifying negative behaviors early, will prevent a behavioral escalations in future.
2. Avoid Overreacting
It is normal to over react when you witness passive aggressive behavior for the first time. However, when the behavior forms a vicious cycle, you should refrain from always over reacting and seek to understand the disorder first.
3. Create a Safe Environment
It is very important to make the victim feel a sense of belonging and safe to voice their concerns. Instead of reverting in the negativity, they could learn to talk for themselves. However, for a person to stand up for themselves, the environment has to be welcoming for dialogue.
4. Keep your Distance
A passive aggressive personality is the kind that will laugh with you then stab you in the back. Once you know you are dealing with this personality, it is wise to tread carefully and keep your distance. You can never tell where the negative energy will lead them towards.
5. Accept them for Who they Are
The mistake most people make, is to try and change passive aggressive people. Well, your intentions maybe well meant, but you could end up with a lot of disappointments. When they become more aware of themselves, then they will make themselves better.
6. Do not Strike Back
One wrong does not make a right. It is natural to want to give passive aggressive people a test of their medicine. Maybe by also showing up late for meetings, or ignoring communications. Retaliating will just turn you into someone you are not.
7. Give them a Chance
Passive aggressiveness exudes negative energy because of feeling left out of decisions. Occasionally, when it is appropriate, such people should be given a chance to have their way. You would be surprised how good their opinions could turn out.
8. Set Consequences
Knowing that actions have consequences is one of the best ways to compel people to do what is required of them. You see, when passive aggressive people get way with their negatively influenced actions, they could make it a habit knowing they will get away with whatever.
They say better the devil you know than an angel you don’t know. Open aggressive people will tell you their mind, and what they are thinking to your face. A passive aggressive personality on the other hand will play your game, and later explode.
