"Last time I did that I got yelled at!" No you didn't. No you didn't. Well, probably you didn't.
I sometimes hear that from the people I work with. "I got yelled at. I got in trouble." No you didn't; in the last 20 years in the work force the only time anyone raised their voice was to be heard over the laughter.
Statements like that are indicative of a deeper issue - whether they red-flag a buried issue between supervisor and direct report, or a thin-skin.
Sue Shellenberger, in her blog post "How to Take Criticism Well" suggests that the ability to take criticism is a well-developed skill. She includes a nifty chart on how to react, and what to do if you react badly.
Read the full article here: http://goo.gl/uqmzj6
Wednesday, 25 June 2014
Wednesday, 18 June 2014
Corporate Sociopath
I started working full time and in earnest in the 80s. It was a different time. Unnecessarily long hours. Cutthroat workplace competition for the next promotion. C-Level by the age of 30! Absolute fear of committing a CLM (career limiting move).
At one point early in my career I found myself working side-by-side with a corporate sociopath. I didn't know it until I happened upon an article describing her qualities to a tee. Armed with that information I was able to share it with others who were in danger, which was frankly, anyone standing between her and her goal.
The attached article lists the signs of a sociopath. She displayed easily 5 or 6 of them.
The good news was, as long as she didn't report to you, you were safe. Everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE who she ever reported to ended up unemployed as she plotted her upward mobility. Those of us who reported to her, which I at one point I did, were perfectly safe as long as she detected no threat.
The truth is that the few years we worked together were the most productive of my career mostly because I knew her game and I played my part well enough that she gave me leeway. I was, in no way, a threat. In fact, working around her corporate sociopathic idiosyncrasies I gained many skills I wouldn't have otherwise, such as learning to recognize her many great qualities and to work together to achieve our departmental goals.
Is there a corporate sociopath in your workplace? It doesn't have to hurt you, necessarily. Read the article here: http://goo.gl/gNVcgU
At one point early in my career I found myself working side-by-side with a corporate sociopath. I didn't know it until I happened upon an article describing her qualities to a tee. Armed with that information I was able to share it with others who were in danger, which was frankly, anyone standing between her and her goal.
The attached article lists the signs of a sociopath. She displayed easily 5 or 6 of them.
The good news was, as long as she didn't report to you, you were safe. Everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE who she ever reported to ended up unemployed as she plotted her upward mobility. Those of us who reported to her, which I at one point I did, were perfectly safe as long as she detected no threat.
The truth is that the few years we worked together were the most productive of my career mostly because I knew her game and I played my part well enough that she gave me leeway. I was, in no way, a threat. In fact, working around her corporate sociopathic idiosyncrasies I gained many skills I wouldn't have otherwise, such as learning to recognize her many great qualities and to work together to achieve our departmental goals.
Is there a corporate sociopath in your workplace? It doesn't have to hurt you, necessarily. Read the article here: http://goo.gl/gNVcgU
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