The Case of Mr Azman and His “Difficult” Team
When Mr Azman first contacted Coach Rubaidah, he was exhausted.
As the manager of a growing SME in Singapore, he felt like he was spending more time managing personalities than managing the business itself.
One employee constantly challenged his decisions.
Another avoided difficult conversations and stayed silent during meetings.
One team member became defensive whenever feedback was given.
Another worked brilliantly under pressure but struggled with routine tasks.
Despite having capable employees, productivity was falling and tensions were rising.
“I don’t understand,” Azman admitted during their first session.
“They are good people. I am a reasonable boss. Why does everything become an argument?”
Looking Beyond The Behaviour
Most managers focus on what people do.
Coach Rubaidah focuses on why they do it.
Through behavioural profiling and structured analysis, patterns soon emerged.
The employee who constantly challenged decisions was not trying to be difficult.
He simply had a highly analytical personality and needed evidence before committing to decisions.
The quiet employee was not disengaged.
She preferred processing information privately before speaking.
The defensive employee wasn’t rejecting feedback.
He simply interpreted direct criticism as personal rejection.
The employee who loved pressure and deadlines became demotivated when work became repetitive and predictable.
Suddenly, the problem no longer looked like incompetence or bad attitudes.
It was a communication mismatch.
The Turning Point
Coach Rubaidah worked with both the manager and the team to help them understand their different behavioural preferences and communication styles.
Small changes began producing surprisingly large results.
Meetings became shorter and more productive.
Feedback sessions became calmer.
Conflicts reduced significantly.
Employees began appreciating strengths they had previously viewed as weaknesses.
For the first time in months, Mr Azman stopped feeling like a referee and started feeling like a leader again.
Six Months Later
Six months after the intervention, Mr Azman shared an observation that stayed with Coach Rubaidah.
“The people never changed,” he said.
“The way we understood each other changed.”
The team was still made up of the same personalities.
The same strengths.
The same weaknesses.
But now they understood each other.
And understanding changed everything.
It Is Not Only About The Workplace
Coach Rubaidah sees similar patterns every day.
Parents who believe their teenagers have become distant.
Couples who repeat the same arguments for years.
Business partners who slowly drift apart.
Friends who misunderstand each other’s intentions.
Very often, the issue is not a lack of love, commitment or goodwill.
The issue is understanding.
People communicate differently.
People react differently under stress.
People process emotions differently.
When we understand these differences, relationships become easier to navigate.
Human Profiling Is Not Fortune Telling
Human profiling is not about putting people into boxes.
It is not about labels.
It is not about predicting the future.
It is a structured approach to understanding communication styles, emotional triggers, decision-making patterns and behavioural preferences.
Understanding these patterns helps people become:
- Better leaders.
- Better spouses.
- Better parents.
- Better colleagues.
- Better communicators.
Most importantly, they become better at understanding themselves.
Understanding People Is A Superpower
Schools teach mathematics.
Universities teach technical skills.
Businesses teach processes.
Very few places teach us how people work.
Yet relationships shape almost every area of our lives.
Families.
Friendships.
Businesses.
Communities.
Leadership.
Perhaps one of the greatest investments we can make is learning how to understand people better.
Because when understanding improves, relationships improve.
And when relationships improve, life often becomes much easier.
That is the work Coach Rubaidah has dedicated herself to for many years.
Helping people understand people.
Because sometimes the problem is not the situation.
Sometimes the problem is simply that two good people are speaking different emotional languages.
Category
Human Behaviour & Personal Growth
Tags
Behavioural Profiling, Emotional Intelligence, Human Psychology, Communication Skills, Leadership, Relationship Support, Conflict Resolution, Personal Growth, Corporate Training, Self Awareness