Working With Difficult & Resistant Staff

“John and Sheila Eller have put together one of the most practical books for school administrators. They accurately describe characters with which all principals have dealt. From their descriptions you can tell they both have run into people like these in their schools such as the Underminer, Contrarian, On-the-Job Retiree, Resident Experts, and Unelected Representatives. For each category, they provide in-depth explanations of the behavior, example scenarios, and strategies for the administrator and other staff to deal effectively with them. The text is clear and easy to read—you can take a ‘type’ to read in a few minutes between meetings. The Ellers based their strategies and suggestions in the research as well as their own extensive experience.

I am going to add this book to the reading list for my principal preparation program. This book would have saved me countless hours of confusion, discomfort, and angst. I heartily recommend it for the administrator in training as well as the experienced administrator. These fresh approaches to some very old problems are a gift to working administrators.”

“This should be required reading for all principals! We know that successful principals build the capacity of their staff, and they do that by understanding sources of resistance and proactively responding to head off potential problems.

The exercises, real life stories, and templates in this book will enable principals to identify, confront, manage, and lead difficult people to get on board and build the capacity of their school community.”

“In Working with Difficult and Resistant Staff, the Ellers have captured the essential skills administrators need to use in their schools to transform the difficult staff members that normally undermine change efforts. They provide essential information for administrators in an easy-to-read format. This book is a must-read for every administrator.”

“This is the book every school principal needs now! Serving as a school principal is difficult enough without trying to change attitudes and behaviors of difficult and resistant teachers and staff. John and Sheila Eller’s book provides excellent successful solutions to bringing non-team players on board to create more accountable student-focused schools and ease the pressures of the principalship. This book will help every principal succeed in building a winning school community.”

“Working with Difficult and Resistant Staff is a comprehensive guide for identifying the behavior and actions of resistant staff. Understanding and dealing effectively with the behavior and actions can be a useful by-product of this guide when used to build a collaborative work environment.”