When you own a studio or are the head of a school it is inevitable that you will find it a part of daily life to deal with someone who is difficult. Perhaps it is a parent or their child, a faculty or staff member or a neighboring business, no matter who it is they need to be dealt with in such a way that whatever problem they have is resolved in an amicable way. Sometimes people find themselves unable to cope when confronted with a difficult person or an explosive situation but being an owner or leader it is important to understand that explosions will happen and storms will come along. The question is how are you going to be able to deal with this kind of situation? As a leader part of what we sign up for is being the one who listens to other people's complaints. You know what that is like, some days everything is smooth sailing and at other times it seems like there is a mutiny brewing! There are times when people just want to vent and it is a good idea to let them do just that. If someone has an issue it is a good idea to let them get it out of their system because if they don't not only will it fester and grow but they will find ways to pass it on to others in your circle. There really is no way that you can avoid or ignore people who are troublemakers. Knowing how to confront this type of personality will help to keep the waters calm.
The fact is that some people are negative thinkers and if we can turn that around and help them to see the positives in the situation it will go a long way in the end. As a studio owner you are the one who is expected to come up with the right answers. You are going to be the one that attracts the problems and issues that arise and so finding ways that work for you to be able to find a reasonable solution to every problem is going to be something very important for the health of your business. When you are dealing with parents and their children there are bound to be moments when jealousies arise or a child feels that they are being picked on and goes home crying in the car or any other myriad of reasons why someone ends up angry or unreasonable. There could be issues and resentment between faculty and staff, when you are dealing with so many personalities on a daily basis, many of whom happen to be artistic and temperamental it is only to be expected that fireworks will go off from time to time.
If you are surrounded by talented people they are bound to have strong opinions from time to time and you want them to be creative and independent thinkers but it is important that you are able to diffuse situations if they start to get out of hand.
Whatever the problem is it is important to take the person aside so that they are able to voice their concerns privately. You definitely don't want anyone who is angry or dissatisfied to have their "moment" in your lobby or any other public space. I always recommend that if a person is irate it is better to let them sleep on it and make an appointment to come in the following day, it gives a person time to cool down and it is much easier to reason with someone after the storm than during. However, if that is not possible the most important thing to remember is try not to get drawn in to the problem, try to stay on the outside looking in and keep those inside voice thoughts and words where they need to be kept, inside you. You will only escalate the problem if you become angry too.
If you are dealing with a parent keep in mind that:
a) They are bound to feel very protective about their child, and understandably so.
b) Their main concern is that their child is happy.
c) They are looking to you for an acceptable resolution to their problem.
First of all try to put yourself in their place and let them know that you understand their concerns and after that be true to yourself and the way you like things to be run at your studio. It is not necessary for you to cave in to keep the peace very often it is helping the parent by educating them and the child as to what expectations you have for them both. It is common for issues arise because of insecurities and it falls to us to identify the issue and then find a reasonable and acceptable solution.
If it is a faculty member or perhaps someone on your staff let them know that you have their back and want to help them in any way that you can. This will immediately put them in a more positive frame of mind and then sit back and listen to what they have to say. You may not like it or want to hear it but it is important as I said previously, to let the person vent and get it out of their system. Only then will they be willing or able to let you find the right answers.
It is not easy to stay positive day after day, all I can tell you is that from the moment you get up to the moment you collapse in your bed at night, keep counting your blessings and keep smiling even in adversity. As I like to say, "Kill them with kindness!" It is much harder to argue with someone if they have a smile on their face and you will find people more open to you and your resolutions if you present a very positive front.
