Jared and Jason had a big problem. They “knew” they were always right. And, of course, that was their big mistake.
Ultimately, it cost them their jobs. But they caused a lot of pain and disruption before that happened.
To read the rest of this article from the Philadelphia Business Journal, see:
Righteous people at work will self-destruct
According to Jared, Ann’s word was her word. So he emailed her what he thought. He wrote, in so many words, she was a liar and unethical; deceptive and sneaky, incompetent and back-stabbing, and a few other names we can’t print here. She should be fired. He wondered who she was sleeping with to keep her job.
Upon reflection, he thought he hadn’t gone far enough. Everyone should know about her. It was his duty to warn them. So he emailed a copy of his original message to Ann’s supervisor and every member of the team.
Since he was sure he was right, Jared thought it was his free-speech right to say it. He was appalled when his superiors had the nerve to write him up in a behavior-improvement form. Jared was convinced that since he didn’t agree with his supervisor, he didn’t have to do what he wanted.
In a separate situation, Jason thought Steve was a jerk. Steve’s reports were lame and his ideas were dumb. At meetings, Jason laughed openly at Steve and told him what he thought, in so many words. Jason was certain Steve was upset because Jason’s charges were true and Steve couldn’t stand being exposed.
Jason couldn’t understand why other people thought Steve was doing fine. However, he knew he was right.
These examples may seem too ludicrous to be true, but they are. Both Jared and Jason had acted the same ways before and previous supervisors had never done anything that resulted in consequences.
The issue wasn’t free-speech. The issue was harassment, bullying, abuse and the creation of a hostile workplace.
Of course, it’s harder to detect sneakier people who are certain they should make the rules.
The Jareds and Jasons of the world usually self-destruct by exposing themselves. But, in the meantime, they cause a lot of disruption. Don’t ignore any Jareds and Jasons on your staff.
The best way to learn what to do to stop know-it-alls and righteous bullies is to hire Dr. Ben for personalized coaching and organizational consulting.
Design and implement an effective plan that eliminates the high cost of low attitudes. To get the help you need, call Ben at 1-877-828-5543.