A former T-Mobile exec shares his strategy for working with difficult colleagues

Everyone has that one colleague they dread working with.

If you haven’t yet, it’s probably only a matter of time, T-Mobile’s former chief business and product officer, Mike Katz, told Business Insider.

Katz began his career as a college student selling cellphone services at retailers before working his way up the C-suite.

He exited his role in July to pursue new professional interests and will remain in a strategic advisory role through December 2026. “There’s going to be people that you run into that, no matter all your best efforts, they’re just going to be super difficult,” said Katz.

As someone who’s held over a dozen roles at T-Mobile, he suggested building a strong internal network and having allies across the company.

Those relationships open doors, expand influence, and create opportunities over time.

Sometimes, though, you just don’t click with someone.

Katz shared four tips for navigating interactions with these colleagues.

First, he said, you have to accept that this is simply a reality of having a job.

That means when you interact with those coworkers, you enter into those interactions with realistic expectations, he said.

Second, you should define what success looks like in those conversations in advance and focus on achieving that goal.

For example, if you need someone’s approval on a project, focus the conversation toward getting that approval, he said.

Don’t expect to come out of the meeting feeling warm and fuzzy. “Know that success coming out of that meeting isn’t really going to be how you feel,” Katz, who previously served as T-Mobile’s CMO, said. “It’s going to be: Did you get the thing that you needed to get done?” You may also want to try breaking the corporate ice with that person.

Sometimes getting to know your coworker on a more personal level can help ease tension.

Katz said that taking the time to build a connection before tackling a work agenda can often solve the problem.

If all else fails and you can’t find common ground, focus on controlling what you can: your own behavior.

Katz said he tries to live by the “golden rule” of treating others the way he wants to be treated.

He said that maintaining that mindset alone can sometimes lead to a “breakthrough” with difficult colleagues.

If you’re not adding to the tension, he said, the dynamic may start to improve.

Have you dealt with a difficult colleague?

Reach out to the reporter via email at aaltchek@insider.com or secure-messaging platform Signal at aalt.19.