The Hindu Business Line : Watch your back

Do you have to deal with ‘narcissistic, unethical, aggressive, rigid, depressed, or anxious individuals’ at work? If yes, be armed with Roy H. Lubit’s guide, Coping with Toxic Managers, Subordinates… and Other Difficult People ( www.pearsoned.co.in).

Toxic managers are present in most organisations, converting workplaces into war zones, the author cautions. “These managers can complicate your work, drain your energy and destroy your career.”

For instance, grandiose managers suffer from fragile self-esteem, and exhibit ‘periodic geysers of anger’. They can turn a good job into a nightmare, the author warns. To get along with such managers, you may have to act in an admiring way and give them credit for the good things you do, advises Lubit. Also, “try not to take their criticism of you personally.”

At times, peers can be grandiose too! They are the ones “who act as if they know the best way to do everything, discount others’ input, fail to respect boundaries, expect favours but rarely do any in return, and give you instructions as if they were your boss.”

As a survival strategy, you must watch your back, counsels Lubit. “Do not tell them about your weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Do not expect them to behave fairly or to change. Do not count on them to do their share of work. Be careful to establish credit for your work and ideas before they claim them as their own.” In the world of toxicity, it is not rare to find the control freaks, the ones who invasively micromanage your work. Healthy read.

D. Murali

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com