LeadershipHQ Magazine February 2015 1st Edition | Page 5

The Jerk

By Sonia McDonald, CEO
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.”

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