We all know and loathe them.
The office bully. The sneaky colleague. The one who pushes you around or
behaves in an underhanded way. We tell ourselves that eventually that bully
will be brought down to size. And yet, he gets promoted. She gets a plum
assignment. How can it be? Why do workplace bullies keep getting ahead? And is
there a better way to deal with unpleasant people at the office?
Several LinkedIn Influencers weighed in on the subject this week. Here s what
two of them had to say.
Vanessa Edmonds, President at RIM Solutions
Gardeners constantly seek plants, such as ivy, that can tolerate flooding,
drought and other intolerable conditions. That way, a gardener can get a
healthy crop, even when other plants die off, wrote Edmonds in her post Why
Bosses are Siding with Office Bullies. The problem: as these hardy plants
multiply, they block the sun and healthy, more delicate blooms like violets are
choked off and die.
Similar to hardy plants, office bullies (IE: mean girls, brown nosers,
misogynist boys clubs and other varieties of trouble makers) may be winning
[the boss s] favour at the expense of positive, solid contributors, Edmonds
wrote, citing a study in the Journal of Managerial Psychology. The journal
found that workplace bullies regularly receive positive evaluations from
supervisors and achieve high levels of career success. Researchers concluded
that their social ability and political savvy enable them to exercise abuse
strategically while being well-liked among those in higher ranks.
It s not that bosses purposely promote people they know are bullies. Rather,
they might not be aware. If you are a boss and really want to understand your
appetite for bullies, she wrote, there are four things to ask about yourself
if you answer yes, you might be a bully-enabler. Among them:
You hate complainers. Workplace complainers are in your face, asking you to
make a judgment call when it s one person s word against another. They are
incapable or unwilling to resolve conflict on their own, she wrote. Bullies,
on the other hand, don t inconvenience you at all. They mistreat others
behind-the-scenes and their social and political savvy allows them to remain
calm, cool and most importantly surprised when you confront them about the
claims against them.
You love loyalists. Like hardy plants, bullies are dependable when all others
abandon you. They are crafty and know that each time they push out an
incompetent complainer they are further carving out a spot out for themselves
within the ranks of the indispensable and they are right, Edmonds wrote.
They stand tall, by your side and don t generally demand a lot in return.
Because of this you eagerly reward them with promotions and raises. Maybe you
ve heard them speak disrespectfully to co-workers a time or two, but you talk
yourself into believing that the object of their verbal slap-down deserved it
and they are acting on your best behalf, or it is merely and isolated event.
Even a boss who knows he or she favours bullies might not suddenly dismiss them
or deal with them.
Just like gardeners who choose hardy plants that will ensure a healthy crop
when faced with inclement weather, bosses sometimes make eyes-wide-open
decisions to keep office bullies instead of the victims of their abuse,
Edmonds explained. After all, the bully has probably proven that they are best
positioned to ensure the viability of the organisation, at least in the short
term.
Long term, it could be a different story. Bullies care most about advancement,
not you. They are merely manipulating you to get ahead, Edmonds wrote. If
they have the opportunity to become bigger than you, they will. And then you,
rather unfortunately, may become the object of their bullying. Like
out-of-control foliage, there won t be much you can do to stop them because it
is you that advocated for them all along.
Sonia McDonald, managing director and founder at LeadershipHQ
There will often be that one person in a working environment that no amount of
coaching or compassion will breach. These narcissistic jerks cause disruption,
anxiety, pressure and even hostile work environments no matter what others may
do to try and alleviate their control issues, wrote McDonald in her post The
Jerk! If you have someone in your work arena that fits this description, don t
panic. There are steps you can take to ensure a smoother, though not ideal,
working relationship.
Among the steps McDonald suggests:
Be aware of your confidence. One tactic workplace jerks take on to forward
their own narcissism is to bully other employees into discrediting their own
work. You are the expert in the field and recognise your work has great value
and substance, so when the workplace jerk starts knocking it down, realise you
have more fruitful avenues for peer review. Seek out those around you who you
trust and garner their opinion, she wrote.
Keep communications open. It is often uncomfortable to discuss just about
anything with a demanding jerk in the workplace, but shutting down lines of
communication is not the answer, wrote McDonald. When having to collaborate
with such as personality, speak clearly and concisely about your topic. Be
aware that a narcissist needs to feel in control, and that they may well try to
drive the communication into a light that makes them look better. This is done
by introducing red herrings into the conversation don t fall prey to dead end
roads. Stick to the point at hand and move along.