Book it: Sometime in the next few weeks (and then in the weeks after that and after that, too), a parent or two will be really difficult to deal with. One will complain while hardly helping. One will help a lot but be generally unlikable and difficult for all nearby. Another will insist that your group take up a pet cause that doesn’t fit with your group’s schedule, priorities, or abilities.
Dealing with difficult parents is a core function of PTO leadership.
How you handle these situations will go a long way to determining the success or lack thereof of your entire PTO year. My advice: Have patience. You and your fellow leaders have to be the calm voices of reason. You can’t yell back (though you want to and perhaps deserve to). You can’t shut off all suggestions (lest you earn the “clique” rep we all try to avoid). And you can’t fire volunteers easily (even when you desperately want to).
But you can handle these folks so that they don’t bring your whole PTO down. Our experts have tons of good insight on this key topic. Check out
How To Deal With Difficult People
Video: 6 Tips for Talking to Difficult People
