Mirella has one of those thorny personalities that make people go out of their way to avoid interactions with her, on a work-related basis or otherwise. Grumpy and moody, she’ll give people the `silent treatment’ for no apparent reason. Her morning greetings are reserved for a select few, while others are noticeably excluded. On occasion, she’ll announce, “don’t bug me or ask me for anything today, I’m in a crappy mood”. Her eye rolling habits are legendary. And she is a malicious gossiper and rumour monger.
In another department, Rick the supervisor has accumulated some bad habits of his own. He berates employees in public for the pettiest reasons. He is notorious for curtly shooting down any idea that doesn’t meet his approval, and doesn’t hesitate to claim credit for other people’s work. Much like Mirella, Rick can walk by people as if they didn’t exist. And he sees nothing wrong with barging into meetings unannounced, without the faintest apology.
Chances are that you’ve encountered these types of behaviours and seen how taxing they can be on a work environment. And chances also are that you felt helpless in dealing with them despite a nagging feeling that there’s something fundamentally wrong with this picture. It all seems so slippery and ambiguous and it’s easier to just do nothing.
Stay tuned for the next few blog entries (they’ll come to you once a week or so), where I’ll share with you some of the dilemmas, intriguing research and solutions for such situations!
(PS the following came in from one of you right after this blog was published: “I can’t wait for the conclusion for this one. I work with Mirella – she is actually a combination of Rick and Mirella”.)
Feel free to contact me anytime.
If you are managing someone who is an abrasive leader, or if you are a manager who was told that you are abrasive – we are always here to help with a (free) perspective or input.
