From line supervisors to senior managers, today's leaders are in the business of developing their people, which means helping them develop strong and productive relationships. Your challenge as a manager is to form coalitions of willing, eager, and ambitious people within your realm of responsibility.
Getting in your way, when you least expect or have the time to deal with them, will be difficult people.
If you observe enough managers over time, you'll notice that some are far less annoyed than others by these problematic employees. That's not because frazzled managers have a greater number of difficult people on their staff or that their difficult people are so much more challenging. Rather, serene managers have developed better skills for dealing with difficult people.
Every difficult person that you come into contact with is an opportunity for you to grow and develop into a stronger, more resilient - and more serene - manager. Fortunately, the coping skills you need can be learned.