What if the key to thriving at work isn’t about loving your job—but about loving the people you work with? In this episode, I’m unveiling my brand-new book, How to Work With Complicated People: Strategies for Effective Collaboration with Nearly Anyone, dropping on April 15.Our national research study revealed something game-changing: job satisfaction has less to do with what you do and more to do with who you do it with. You can power through a tough job with people you enjoy, but even a dream job can feel like a nightmare with the wrong team. And here’s the reality—complicated is in the eye of the beholder. What makes someone complicated to you might not be complicated to someone else.I’m sharing the biggest insights from our research, breaking down why learning to work with complicated people is a superpower, and giving you a roadmap to mastering this skill. Imagine if you could work with nearly anyone. Not just tolerate them—but actually thrive alongside them. That’s what this book is about.Pre-order now at ryanleak.com/complicated or Amazon, and get ready to unlock a whole new level of leadership, collaboration, and success.
Chapter 1: What challenges do we face when working with complicated people?
What's going on, my friends? Welcome back to the Ryan League Podcast, where we keep things short and sweet. Today, I wanna help you work with that special somebody at your job. I wanna help you work with that person who perhaps is a little bit difficult, perhaps even a little bit complicated, perhaps somebody who makes every task 10 times harder than it needs to be. to be.
I'm talking about that person who's got some mood swings. I'm talking their mood swings are like the Dallas Fort Worth weather. You don't know what you're gonna get when you wake up and when you go to bed. I'm talking about that person who when they're on Zoom or they're on Teams or They refuse to stay on mute while their dog is barking in the background.
I'm talking about that person who in a meeting somehow manages to speak for 20 minutes without saying anything at all. I'm talking about that person who you hire this person. And on the first day, they make you question every life decision you've ever made in your entire life. I'm talking about the person who you trained. And somehow, it feels like they are determined.
They have made it their aim in life to forget everything you taught them immediately. I'm talking about the person that perhaps you promoted because they were doing great work. And then once they got the job, it's like they turned into a completely different person overnight. If you have ever worked with anybody... that challenged who you are as an individual, challenged your intellect.
They make you think to yourself, why on earth do I work here? If that's ever been you, I've got a special announcement for you that I think is absolutely going to change your life. And I think it's going to change how you work. My friends, today is special because today,
I get to officially announce that my new book, How to Work with Complicated People, Strategies for Effective Collaboration with Nearly Anyone, is dropping on April 15th. The reason we say nearly anyone is because some people are certified crazy and you can't work with everybody. But I believe you can work with nearly anyone. Everybody.
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Chapter 2: What is the significance of Ryan's new book?
And I believe that this book is going to unlock a new superpower in you. So let's get into it. Why did I write this book? Well, it's because after diving into a national research study, we realized something massive. Job satisfaction has less to do with someone's job description and more to do with the people they actually do the job with. It's amazing.
Chapter 3: How does job satisfaction relate to the people we work with?
People can pull off a difficult job with people they enjoy working with more than they can actually do their dream job with people they tolerate. You see, when you've got people that you're doing the job with that are draining you, you'll start rethinking your entire career real quick. And here's what we found that really sealed the deal for me when we looked at this national research study.
Chapter 4: What does the research say about complicated people?
When we started asking people about complicated, we got all kinds of answers. In other words, what we discovered is complicated is in the eye of the beholder. And it's not just about coworkers and bosses. It's also about clients. Customers, I mean, have you ever had a client who constantly changed their mind but expects you to read it anyway?
Chapter 5: How can external complications affect our work experience?
Have you ever had a customer who wants a discount but always wants the red carpet treatment at the same time? Or perhaps it's a patient who refuses to follow the plan, but still blames you when things go wrong. The truth is, external complications can be just as frustrating as the internal ones. And they can make or break how you experience your work.
Chapter 6: What humorous examples illustrate the concept of 'complicated'?
So as a part of our research, we actually let people define complicated for themselves. In fact, one person wrote, When we asked them, this is the question, okay? I want you to understand this. We said, hey, how would you define a complicated person? They wrote one word, Leslie. I said, Leslie? Who's Leslie? Wait a minute, maybe they don't understand the question.
We said, hey, let us rephrase the question. How would you define a complicated person? They said, I said, Leslie. I said, oh, you for real? They said, yeah, Leslie is the personification of complicated, another person wrote Nate. I said, who's Nate? This is wild. Here's what I know.
If you're going to work, you're going to have to work with, work for, sell to, report to, email, Zoom call, negotiate with, or manage a Leslie or a Nate. And oh, by the way, if your name is actually Leslie or Nate, I got nothing against you, but I promise you somebody does. The reality is it's easy to work with people who are just like you.
They think the way you think, work the way you work, and approach problems the way that you approach them. It feels natural, smooth, effortless even. It's like showing up to a job where everyone speaks the same language. You just get each other. But then there's the opposite scenario. It's when you're paired with someone who challenges everything you do.
They work at a different pace, process information differently, and have a completely different take on what's obvious to you. I've learned that common sense isn't as common as we think it is. Isn't it interesting that sometimes you're working with somebody and every task feels way harder? It's like your instincts don't match. You misinterpret each other's tone.
And at some point you think, why is this person making my life harder? But here's the thing. This is what I want you to know. Those moments, those people, if you can lean in, that's where the magic happens. That's where you grow. That's where you grow. That's where you get better. That's where you harness a superpower. That's where you become indispensable.
It's when you can work with almost anyone. Imagine if you could work with nearly anyone, not just tolerate them, but actually work well with them. What if you could turn tension into trust? What if you could transform friction into momentum? What if the people who annoy you the most could actually become your greatest allies? That's what this book is about.
It's about learning how to navigate complicated relationships in a way that makes your job easier and makes you better. And we didn't just guess at all this. We did the research. We surveyed professionals across the industries. I interviewed C-suite executives that I've gotten to work with over the years and some MBA professionals as well. And the patterns were undeniable.
People's biggest challenges at work weren't the work itself. It was the people. Leaders who figured out how to work with complicated people were more effective and more respected than Teams that learned to navigate complexity saw higher retention, better morale, and stronger performance. And here's the kicker.
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