Over on Focus, Linda asks how to collaborate with someone with whom you need to work with who is arrogant and unbearable:

“Once every few years I come across someone in a phone interaction who is so full of themselves it makes you go nuts! For professional reasons you try and keep it civil and find a way to collaborate with them but often these folks suffer from severe disconnects with how they come across. Or they just don’t care. What do you think?“

In terms of Linda’s question, I’d separate “collaboration” from “communication.” If it’s a one-time phone call then man- or woman-up and do your best. If it’s a longer term collaboration … then you have a greater opportunity to influence their style through how you act and the expectations you set.

Alan, Cale, and Michael share some good ideas (see their comments on the post).