85. Dealing with Brilliant Jerks at Work

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In this podcast, you can expect to make all kinds of interviews with amazing tool leaders, and then some solo episodes from myself as well.

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Hello and welcome to this solo episode of the Ways to Change Your Workplace podcast with your host, me, Preena Shah. And today I want to talk to you about all things brilliant jerks at work. So, to begin with, what is a brilliant jerk at work? A brilliant jerk is a term used to describe an individual in the workplace who possesses exceptional skills or talent in their field, but exhibits negative behaviors that negatively impact on their colleagues and work environment. So they might be highly intelligent, skilled or knowledgeable, hence the term brilliant, but they often display arrogance, disrespect, or they lack empathy towards others, which is where the term jerk comes from. So brilliant because they're a high performer, and jerk because of their jerky behaviors. So the behavior of a brilliant jerk can have several negative consequences within a workplace. Their toxic attitude can create a hostile or unhealthy work environment, leading to decreased morale, increased stress levels, and decreased productivity among team members, those who feel the jerkiness of the jerk. Their disrespectful behavior can hinder effective collaboration and communication, limiting the potential for successful teamwork and innovation. I remember when I used to work internally in HR, there was this one manager in a creative area, and he was brilliant at the most creative ideas and things. However, he was the biggest knob. The way he spoke to people, the way he related to people, he was a true jerk. He didn't like women, he certainly didn't like other people giving their ideas, it was his way or the highway. So I want you to consider if you've got any brilliant jerks in your workplace. Because it's important to note that the term brilliant jerk does not imply that being brilliant or talented automatically makes someone a jerk. Many high-skilled individuals are also kind, respectful, and supportive of their colleagues. However, when someone combines exceptional abilities with their negative behaviors, it can be challenging for organizations to address the situation effectively. And that's exactly what happened to the brilliant joke that I told you about. He remained within the workplace for three or four years, gaining credibility more or more so because he had many, many objectives that he won. He started to increase his areas that he managed and became king of marketing in the end. He ended up heading up the whole marketing department. However, it didn't last long. When the right eye saw his behaviour, he was effectively terminated from his job. So, organizations should strive to discourage brilliant jerk behavior and promote a culture of respect, collaboration, and teamwork. And this can be achieved through loads of measures, through clear communication of expectations, promoting emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills. Hello, soft skills are the hardest skills to develop by providing feedback and coaching and essentially addressing the toxic jerky behavior promptly and appropriately. The issue that happened with the manager that I explained is that his wonderful objectives being met were then rewarded with promotions and you know extra pay and whatnot, which basically enabled the jerky behavior that was never ever addressed, even though so many people complained about him. So, how do organizations inadvertently enable brilliant jerks? Is something that I want to discuss. Organizations I have seen canadvertent inadvertently enable brilliant jerks through various mechanisms and practices. So there's a common few ways in the way that this can happen. Organizations can tolerate toxic behavior, like the example that I just gave you. If an organization turns a blind eye to the negative behavior of a brilliant jerk simply because they're highly skilled or valuable to the organization, it sends a message that such behaviour is acceptable. When leaders and managers fail to address toxic behavior, it can perpetuate a culture where brilliant jerks feel empowered to continue their behavior without consequence. Another way that organizations can inadvertently enable brilliant jerks is by focusing solely on performance. Organizations that prioritize individual performance metrics without considering the impact of behavior on the overall team dynamics can inadvertently enable brilliant jerks. If an individual consistently meets or exceeds their performance targets, their negative behavior might be overlooked or excused, as was the case in my example, and that reinforced the belief that their brilliance justifies their actions, their jerky actions, you know. Organisations can promote a lack of accountability, and when organizations fail to hold individuals accountable for their behavior, it can create an environment where brilliant jerks can act with impunity. This can be due to a lack of clear policies, inconsistent enforcement of policies, or a fear of confronting powerful or high-performing employees. Hey, well, this person is achieving our targets. How dare you touch them? How dare you bring up any issues with them? Is the issue that I faced when I tried to bring up the brilliant jerky behavior in the said example that I gave you. Organizations also sometimes reward short-term results. And if an organization places heavily heavy emphasis on short-term outcomes and rewards individuals solely based on their individual achievements, it can encourage brilliant jerks to prioritize their own success over the well-being of the team or the organization. And this in turn fosters a cutthroat environment that allows toxic behavior to thrive, which results in ineffective leadership. Poor leadership that lacks awareness or fails to address toxic behavior can inadvertently enable brilliant jerks. So when leaders don't set a positive example or fail to address issues promptly and decisively, it sends a signal that negative behavior is acceptable. So, how can you address a brilliant jerk at work? Let's say you're working with someone who is amazing in terms of everything that they achieve, but they just do it in a really awful manner. Addressing a brilliant jerk at work can be a challenging task. But remember it's essential for maintaining a healthy work environment to address the brilliant jerks. So here's some steps for you to consider. Document specific incidents. So keep a record of specific instances where the brilliant jerks' behavior has had a negative impact on the team or the organization. Now be clear here: document dates, times, descriptions of the incidents and the people involved. This will provide evidence and help you to articulate your concerns effectively. Review company policies. Familiarize yourself with your company's policies and code of conduct. Lots of organizations talk about psychosocial hazards. Look into what your organization is doing to protect you in relation to psychosocial hazards. And ensure that the Brilliant Joke's behavior violates one of these policies and identify the specific areas that are being violated. This will provide a good solid foundation for addressing the issue. You can also discuss concerns with colleagues, in confidence, of course, and without gossiping. So talk to other team members who have experienced the Brilliant Joke's behavior or witnessed its effects. Seek their perspectives and gather additional information that can support your case. This can help establish broader understanding of the problem and build a collective approach to addressing it. Communicate privately. Schedule a private meeting with the brilliant jerk to discuss your concerns. Approach the conversation from a place of professionalism. Use I statements to express how their behavior has impacted you and others. Provide specific examples and focus on the impact of their actions rather than attacking their character. Now this takes guts, and if it is a brilliant jerk that you can talk to, please go forward and talk to them. But if you feel that your safety is in concern, then have a second or you know a third party available. Another thing you can do is to seek support from your managers or from human resources. If the brilliant jerk's behaviour continues or escalates after your initial conversation, it might be necessary to involve management or HR. And share your documented incidents, concerns, and any relevant company policies. Request their support in addressing the issue and ensuring that you and they are creating a respectful work environment together. Another thing you can do is to encourage feedback and consequences. Emphasize the importance of feedback and consequences for the brilliant jerk's behavior. Encourage the organization to establish a system where employees can provide anonymous feedback and report incidents of toxic behaviour. Advocate for appropriate consequences such as coaching, training, or really disciplinary measures, depending on the severity of the behaviour. Focus on team dynamics and support. So foster a culture of teamwork, collaboration and respect within the team. Encourage open communication, provide positive interactions, and provide support to team members who might be affected by the brilliant jerk's behavior. Strengthening the team dynamics can help mitigate the negative impact of the brilliant jerk and it promotes a healthier work environment. So the brilliant jerk that I have in mind, this is exactly what happened. What used to happen was his team went behind his back and they created their own little subculture to look after each other. They used to text each other if he was having a good day or a bad day to warn each other so that they could be well prepared to deal with the brilliant jerk. So create a support system of sorts. And organizations can prevent brilliant jerks in many, many ways. Organizations need to set clear expectations, establish and communicate clear expectations for behavior and conduct within the organization. Develop a code of conduct that emphasizes respect, collaboration and professionalism. And ensure that employees understand the behavioural standards that they are expected to adhere to. You can't have one rule for one and another rule for your brilliant jerks. That's just bullshit. Organizations need to promote values and culture. Why the fuck do you have your values if you're not using them? So define and promote your core values that reflect the desired culture of the organization. And work with that. Encourage employees to embody these values in their interactions with colleagues. Emphasize emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills. I cannot highlight the importance of soft skills to you. Provide training and development opportunities that focus on emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, effective communications, and I hold team health sessions which have truly turned teams around to be really high performing and to work even better with each other and to address the brilliant jerks. Drop me an email. My contact details are in the show notes. Let me know if you need any help in addressing brilliant jerks. The other thing that organizations need to do is strengthen leadership and management practices to ensure that leaders and managers within the organization exemplify and reinforce positive behaviors. So providing leadership development programs to equip managers with the skills needed to address toxic behaviour, to promote a healthy work environment and effectively manage conflicts. Another way is to implement a 360-degree feedback system. Now I kind of think that this is a chicken-y way out because your HR team clearly haven't dealt with it and you clearly don't feel comfortable to deal with it. This is the last option you can have, really. A 360 feedback degree system. So establish a feedback mechanism that allows employees to provide feedback on their colleagues' behaviour, including their interactions and impact on the team. This is your last resort. Ideally, your first step would be to speak with the individual in concern, the brilliant jerk. If you can't speak with them, then speak with your manager or your HR team to address the issue and see if it is addressed. If your HR team are useless and cannot support you, and if your management team, you know, don't want to, I don't know how to address the brilliant jerk, then the 360 feedback system is definitely the way to go. And I have helped a few organizations to create their own 360 feedback systems. You can create your own questions and own your own data to truly get to the core of what the issue is. But then with that feedback that you receive, you have to do something with it. It can't just be lip service. And that's where people like me, consultants and coaches come in to help the brilliant jerk to get a better way of working and to improve their behavior. Another thing that organizations can do is to encourage and reward teamwork and collaboration by fostering a culture that values, said teamwork and collaboration, recognize and reward individuals and teams that demonstrate this exceptional collaboration, supportiveness and inclusiveness. It talks to the behavior that you want to achieve and it discourages the brilliant jerky behavior. One of the most important things that organizations can do is to address toxic behavior promptly. Act swiftly when toxic behavior is identified. Listen to your people and establish a process for reporting incidents that ensure that complaints are taken seriously. Investigate the complaints thoroughly and take appropriate disciplinary action when necessary. This sends a clear message that toxic jerky behaviour will not be tolerated. Organizations can hire for a cultural fit. During the hiring process, assess candidates not only for their technical skills but also for their compatibility with the organization's values and culture. And look for individuals who demonstrate a willingness to collaborate, to communicate effectively and treat others with respect. Now a caveat here: brilliant jerks can be the best charmers and they can definitely, definitely ace an interview. So the other thing that you need to do with this is also ensure that brilliant jerks meet with the team members, that you are hiring the right fit to complement the kind of personalities that you have within the team as well. Fostering open communication channels is essential to create an environment where employees feel comfortable speaking up about toxic behaviors or concerns. So I encourage you to create an open dialogue where you in your organization can provide anonymous reporting mechanisms if needed to ensure that employees' feedback will be heard and addressed. And really, last but not least, it's about leading by example. Leaders and managers should model the behavior they expect from others. They should demonstrate respect, empathy, and professionalism in their interactions and hold themselves accountable for their actions. This sets the tone for the rest of the organization. So brilliant jerks, there are many around. You can deal with them at an individual level, you can certainly deal with them at an organizational level. And if you want specific help to deal with your curly question in relation to the brilliant jerk or jerks that you are dealing with in your organization, drop me a message. My details are in the show notes, and I hope you have a career free of brilliant jerks in your way because life is short and it's not about that. I wish you well and I will see you in the next episode. If you like this episode, check out the show notes and sign up for my newsletter. That will help your workplace to be less shitty. It's full of novel ideas, good food for thought. And if you like this episode, pass it on to at least two people who will benefit. Also, remember to subscribe to the Ways to Change Your Workplace podcast via your podcast provider. And I will see you in the next episode.