How to Work with Complicated People

Strategies for Effective Collaboration with (Nearly) Anyone

De: Ryan Leak

Narrado por: Ryan Leak

Bestselling author and transformational speaker Ryan Leak shares research-based strategies for working with even the most challenging people to create more collaborative and productive teams.

Who is the most complicated person you work with?

You probably don’t have to think very hard to answer that question. You already know their name, their job title, their quirks, and their flaws. You have firsthand experience with the mental and emotional fallout they leave in their wake. You’ve seen the problems their complexity creates for everyone on their team. You wish you could fix them, solve them, ignore them, or teleport them to a parallel dimension.

But you can’t.

You have to work with them.

(You could quit, but your next job will have a complicated person waiting for you.)

That means you need effective strategies to collaborate with (nearly) anyone. Especially the picky, prickly, problematic ones.

Drawing from his global consulting experience with teams and leaders from the glitz of sports and entertainment, to the number-crunching world of finance, to the meticulous realms of insurance, pharma, and manufacturing, Ryan Leak provides proven strategies for…

• Seeing challenging individuals as human beings to understand rather than problems to solve
• Detoxing unrealistic expectations and getting comfortable with complicated
• Learning to communicate effectively in complex environments
• Embracing healthy disagreement as a tool to discover better solutions
• Setting boundaries that let people into your world without letting them run your world

“The process of learning to collaborate with difficult individuals is transformative—it’s a gateway to greater creativity, stronger teams, and increased productivity,” Leak explains. “On the other side of complicated is the wonderful, wide-open world of effective collaboration and a workplace you love.”

©2025 Ryan Leak (P)2025 Maxwell Leadership

I’m complicated

Learning more about me is key! I get it. Look inwards before attempting to label/call another person “complicated” because my point of view maybe causing things to become “complicated”.

Perspective Shift

Ryan is incredible at introducing a new perspective that our culture rarely focuses on. This perspective is simply: the people around us.

Having heard stories about the author and hearing him speak a ton growing up, his superpower is giving alternative solutions to normal problems, and this book is no exception. This book is extremely helpful to the listener who desires a better experience in their workplace, social circles, and family. The focus is mainly on the workplace, but the principles carry into many avenues of life.

I highly encourage you to give it a listen, or even buy the book and take notes. If we can grow in our everyday relationships, our everyday lives will improve.

To Ryan, thank you for continuously working to help people. Individuals, leaders, and whole communities have gotten better because of your efforts.

To take a look at ourselves and then work with others.

Thank you for this amazing book. This help me to open my eyes and understand others.

We make things complicated

I love the content, flow, and applicability. A worthy read that I recommend for all will difficult people in their life!

So practical and much needed in our world!

This book was very practical for me and it has really challenged me in my communication and processing of interactions.

The flow of the book was story and also action

Important for every aspect of life. Approachable and obtainable with key concepts which support teams, individuals and communities.

I can handle complicated people

I enjoyed the different personalities that were shown in this book and also how it made me do self reflection on if I’m a complicated person and what to do about it once again it is a great job and enlightening to have tools to help you be successful thanks Ryan

Not just a leadership book

I feel like this book is about work place leadership and communication but beings im not in that roll, I wanted to share my perspective! I have a very high need child, 2 teenagers and a pre teen. That is all kinds of complicated. So managing communication and understanding 6 different personalities and perspectives in one household…feels like a complicated situation and this book was helpful! Learning how to say things differently and possibly being open to seeing things from the other’s perspective and maintaining boundaries is what I took away from this book. Thank-you Ryan for sharing this book!

Adjusting Yourself

Liked the shift in perspective. You can't control or change others but you can change yourself.

This is a book for everyone.

This is a book for everyone. I do not say that lightly. While we live in an age where everyone has a platform and an opinion, it is crucial that we all learn to realize that not only will we encounter difficult people, but that we are also difficult people to someone else. People spout about harmony and diversity and integration, but on a personal level, I rarely see it in action. People tend to be judgmental and critical and quick to cancel one another, and that’s just not a sustainable way to live. Though this book is for the workplace, it is applicable to family and friends as well. I will probably read it a second time and maybe a third. Highly recommend.