office nut cases

8/8/2019 Office Nut Cases

1/13

Office Nut Cases: A Field Guide

By Geoffrey James | September 2, 2010

If youve been around an office for any time at all, youve run into one of those certifiable nutcases who makes you (and everyone around you) miserable. Not to worry. Identifying a nut caseis half the battle, because then you can avoid, ignore or neutralize. Knowledge truly is power.

To help you spot these workplace whack jobs, the brilliant and charming Sylvia Lafairhaswritten a book, Dont Bring It To Work; Breaking the Family Patterns that Limit Success. In

it, she shows you how to identify and deal with the most common offenders. She calls thembehavior patterns rather than nut cases and has all sorts of good advice for dealing with

them.

But I call em nut cases, and this post describes the 13 types that Lafair says are most common in

the workaday world. This is information no serious professional (sales or otherwise) should bewithout.

NUT CASE #1: THE SUPER-ACHIEVER *

Super achievers must excel at everything that they do to the point

of obnoxiousness. Not only do they achieve every conventional measure of career success, buttheir families must look picture perfect. Happy is not a word used by super achievers; the only

word that matters is successful.

Super achievers see themselves as special and they want to be treated as such. They continually

inflate themselves often at the expense of others. Super achievers hate criticism and willendlessly defend, explain or justify in order to prove that they are right and others are wrong.

If the super achiever is a peer, no matter how competent you are, youll walk away from an

encounter needed to shake off an uncomfortable sense of incompetence. If you report to a super


2/13

achiever, one of two things is bound to happen. Either you will sit at the feet of the star or youwill be constantly told that your ideas are second rank. If you oversee a super achiever, expect

underhanded maneuvers to get you fired.

Super achievers breed fear and resentment. Everyone begins to guard ideas and an uncomfortable

sense of paranoia grows. Initially, a super achiever will charm certain individuals who look as ifthey can be the best stepping stones. But over time a slew of bruised egos accumulate and by thetime the rest of the team what realizes what has happened, the super achiever has been promoted.

NUT CASE #2: THE REBEL *

The rebel is a born fighter. Their animosity is almost alwaysagainst authority figures, social protocols, or company rules and regulations. Rebels come inwearing jeans on a Tuesday when the casual day is Friday. They miss deadlines or arrive late to

work just to prove they dont have to follow the rules.

Rebels do these things because they thrive on negative attention, seeing it as the only way to getnoticed. Rebels often strike colleagues as emotionally closed and hyper vigilant. Rebels claim to

strive for change yet they have not done their deeper homework. They will take on a causewithout really understanding the implications of their actions.

If you have a classic rebel on your team, watch out! About the only thing he or she loves more

than throwing gasoline on a smoldering fire is getting others to do the same. The moment rebelshear of discontent, they will go to great lengths to convince others they should go to HR or getlegal advice.

Most companies cannot tolerate rebels for very long which is why rebels are often sent to

communication programs or anger management seminars. Rebels also get fired or quit their jobs,typically leaving with a tremendous amount of fanfare. Rebels are willing to prove a point

regardless of consequences and this can easily damage communities, teams and companies.


3/13

NUT CASE #3: THE PROCRASTINATOR *

Procrastinators always say yes to deadlines but fail to followthrough. They then become indignant or evasive when held responsible. As deadlines approach,procrastinators cannot be found by cell phone, e-mail or carrier pigeon. When the work is finally

turned in, procrastinators often go on multiple mini vacations to recuperate from the stress.

While perfectionism plays a part, most procrastinators lack self-confidence and are unsurewhether they can actually complete a task. There also appears to be a link between impulsiveness

and procrastination. Impulsive people tend to value living in the moment and thus attribute noreal meaning to deadlines.

For businesses the cost of procrastination includes time spent counseling tardy employees,

making sure the postponed work gets covered, managing disappointments and handling theconflicts that are bound to occur when teams are waiting for a solitary individual to produce his

or her part of a project.

Procrastination costs are hard to measure as one can hardly plot out all the possible alternative

scenarios and all the missed opportunities. One thing is certain, a procrastinator on a projectvirtually guarantees that it will either be late, or that other people will end up doing extra work in

order to get it in on time.

NUT CASE #4: THE OFFICE CLOWN *


4/13

Office clowns are extroverts who love to divert others with their

jokes and witty banter. They know every detail of a trivial issue and give their own two cents

just to get a rise out of their colleagues. Often the jokes are offensive insensitive and downrightembarrassing. Clowns can get folks involved in a contest of one-liners that may begin in goodtaste but end up as HR nightmares.

Office clowns often display an uncanny ability to break up a tense situation with a joke. They

can pick up on the unsaid anger in the room and become heroes by speaking the unspeakable,even if its not productive to focus on that aspect of the situation.

Having a sense of humor is certainly not the same as being an office clown. Research indicatesthat laughing benefits the immune system and activates endorphins, the good stuff that makes us

feel more contented.

However, coworkers sense that office clowns arent just trying to be funny and that theressomething else going on. Privately most coworkers regard office clowns as bozos, smart-asses,

and motormouths. Not surprisingly, such clowning can be subversive rather than helpful, givingrise to shared negativity rather than anything constructive.

NUT CASE #5: THE PERSECUTOR *


5/13

Persecutors are bullies who love to control, micromanage, anddisplay contempt for others. They constantly put others down with snide remarks and unfair

criticism. Persecutors see others as weak and sentimental and they only approve of and

appreciate those who take power.

Persecutors need to feel important and need to dominate conversations. They want to be thecenter of attention and expect those who work with and for them to help maintain their most

important person status at any meeting.

Some persecutors will find fault with someone elses work in front of a group and point out howmuch the person still needs to learn. Other persecutors are more subtle and use the red pen

technique cutting up your work as to flee as if they were slicing your body with the sword.Persecutors will let you almost finish a project before they tell you what you have done is not

good enough.

Persecutors are deadly for individuals and teams. According to the Gallup organization, bullyingby immediate bosses is the single most important reason people quit their jobs. Having a brutal

boss or peer can cause depression, sleep disorders, ulcers, high blood pressure, lowered self-confidence and a sense of inadequacy and isolation.

NUT CASE #6: THE VICTIM *


6/13

Victims are consummate complainers. Pessimistic by nature, theynever feel respected or trusted. They struggle with feelings of inadequacy and fearfulness and as

a result they tend to be quiet and to withdraw from any situations in which they risk beingattacked. They will call also go out of their way to avoid folks they think are highly competent.

Victims are always looking for someone to come to their rescue and there is always an alliance

to be formed with other victims who are also uncomfortable with conflict. Victims hate havingpeople look over their shoulders. If this happens they tend to slow down, get sick or ask to be

given another task.

Victims are often blind to solutions. They spend so much time focusing on problems thatopportunities for real and lasting change pass them by. They believe that anything they do will

only cause more problems and all too often this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Victims often stay in the same job, even though theyre deeply unhappy. When something

happens that causes them to move to another job, they tend to re-create the same conditions.Theyre extremely frustrating because they simply will not take action to change their situation.

NUT CASE #7: THE RESCUER *


7/13

Rescuers live to save victims. Whether its women facing gender

discrimination or minority employees who have not gotten promoted, rescuers will take up the

cause. Rescuers help victims in order to win attention and gratitude, and to burnish their imageas saviors.

Rescuers have read all the latest self-help books and can get you the name of the best physician,lawyer, accountant or hairstylist at a moments notice. At home, the rescuer solves all the

problems and in so doing keeps the rest of the family feeling helpless and inadequate.

Rescuers will go from person to person, to make sure everyone is happy yet they are really only

in their comfort zone when other people are unhappy. If there are no obvious victims, rescuerswill try to convince people that they are being victimized, simply in order to save them.

If you ever received help from a rescuer and no longer need his or her device you will find thatthe rescuer will quickly become hostile. And woe be to the person who refuses to accept help.Whoever does that either becomes the enemy or is seen as being in league with the enemy.

NUT CASE #8: THE DRAMA QUEEN *


8/13

The drama queen (or king, because this behavior is ABSOLUTELY

NOT gender specific) can be a lot of fun. The drama queen will cry, yell, and throw objects

around the room simply to make a point. The aim of such histrionics is not to cause pain asmuch as it is to make a noisy point.

If one is not the target of the upset, watching a drama queen is often like watching a theatricalperformance. The drama queen is usually very intelligent and possesses a vocabulary at once

extensive, effective, and colorful. Drama queens love gossip rumors personal traumas andemotional breakdowns.

Drama queens believe that their best work gets done when they are in an emotionally chargedstate. You never have to ask them how they are feeling. If it isnt written on their face in either

the form of a smile or a scowl, they will tell you.

In meetings, drama queens offer stubborn points of view and make sure that everyone knowshow wrongheaded the other side is. Drama queens love to stir things up if a conflict is settled

and all parties are finally calm. The drama queen will say something like Yes, I know we allagree but Although such people can be resourceful and creative, they waste time and energy

that could have been used more productively.

NUT CASE #9: THE MARTYR *


9/13

Martyrs are the opposite of procrastinators. Martyrs will do

everyones work and bend over backwards to go above and beyond the call of duty. Martyrs

love details so much that they will often compulsively go over lists and numbers 3 or even 10times, just to make sure that what they had actually did was correct.

Martyrs want to be the special one in the office, the one whom everyone calls to discuss aproblem personal or professional. Martyrs are useful to have on your team so long as you are

immune to guilt feelings. Although their work is usually quite good, the refrain of look at all Idid! gets old quickly.

If you take away all the extra jobs they piled onto their work schedule, they will find a way to getit back on their agenda. Even if you forbid them from taking on extra projects, they will claim

you insisted that they do the extra work.

Martyrs love to sulk and they do it quite well. Although they claim they do not want anyrecognition, they will tell you many, many times that they are overworked, underpaid and

unrecognized. When martyrs feel under-appreciated, they begin to talk behind your back.

NUT CASE #10: THE PLEASER *


10/13

Pleasers are people who cant handle the truth. They are afraid that

coming clean with honest emotions might offend someone. They rarely offer opinions and theywill do whatever it takes to avoid causing or being involved with conflict.

Pleasers want to fit in, which leads them to become intensely self-conscious. Pleasers they just

have a hard time setting limits. As important as it is to get others approval, it is even moreimportant not to get their disapproval.

Despite their best efforts, pleasers are often not very popular work. They areineffective authorityfigures and will change their position depending on who was in the room. This chameleon-like

stance is a protective device allowing the pleaser to remain the winner in a popularity contest.

Pleasers usually love a micromanager as a boss because that way they can just salute and dowhat they are told. Pleasers continue to please until there is the proverbial straw that breaks their

pleasing backs. At that point they express anger, and if the situation has been festering longenough, this anger can boil over into rage. The individual on the receiving end of the venom is

often blindsided.

NUT CASE #11: THE AVOIDER *


11/13

Avoiders frustrate coworkers because theyre aware of problems

but wont talk about them. If conflict is brewing, avoiders sense the tension and leave very

quickly. Avoiders are always saying: Ill get back to you and I have to think about it.

Avoiders cant stand to be blamed for anything and they walk away rather than admit they were

responsible for creating a problem. They will also go down with the ship rather than changecourse if it means they will be held responsible.

If a situation is more demanding than they expected, avoiders will quickly relinquish control andslide into the background. If you challenge an avoider to complete a project he started, he will

give you the deer in the headlights look and find an excuse for a fast exit.

Avoiders are passive aggressive and will get out uncomfortable situations passively getting out

of the way. They might come to work late and swear they called and even though there is a calllog in the office and they are not on it. They might turn off their cell phone after you specificallyasked them to expect a call. If you leave a paper trail of voters will insist they never got the

message and that the wording was unclear.

NUT CASE #12: THE DENIER *


12/13

Deniers pretend that problems and uncomfortable situations dontexist. They ignore the fact that work is not getting done and refuse to heed warnings that might

upset the status quo.

We all want to find ways to decrease stress, but deniers are so afraid of stress that they try tomake it go away by pretending that it doesnt exist. They become trapped in an emotion statethat keeps them from taking any action to address very real problems.

Deniers especially resent truth-tellers. They are fearful of looking at themselves too closely and

have a critical need for everything to look good on the outside. So long as others cannot see thedirty laundry, well, it just isnt dirty.

Deniers become especially dangerous when they clog up much-needed innovation. Deniers do

this because they feel threatened by information that can make them look at the world throughnew lenses. This problem is particularly pronounced in the ranks of top management.

NUT CASE #13: THE SPLITTER *


13/13

Splitters can be difficult to spot. They seem so congenial and

helpful. They always want to be your best friend and watch your back like your own personal

bodyguard. They often have private information that they share because they claim to want tohelp you climb the latter of success. Almost always this information concerns someone who ishell-bent on betraying you.

The splitter will keep his ear to the ground and make sure youre going to get all the information

that you need to play the game. However, at the same time, the splitter is also busy telling youradversary that you are out to get her! Thats all part of fun!

Splitters are masters of power games. They use innuendo, emotional bribery, mixed messages,and gossip to get you to be their puppet. Corporate environments are fertile ground for splitters

because in most companies emotional openness is considered either a sign of weakness or is

potentially dangerous. This makes it easy for them to play their games.

Splitters love to feel important. They also love to have control over you as well as the others

who are out to get you. Splitters love to do all the work up front, then sit back and watch thefireworks! Often they end up creating permanent rifts that cannot be healed and relationships

that are permanently ruined.

office nut cases

Documents