Do you have a brilliant jerk in your life? This is someone who is very productive and capable, and is hard on everyone around them. Here are the four unmistakable signs that you’ve got yourself one:
- They (perhaps secretly) undermine you and your initiatives
- They stir up drama
- They think mainly about themselves
- They display asinine behaviour in a wonderful variety of ways. This may including hissy fits, freaking out on people, clamming up (pouting), being sarcastic, or perhaps crude and creepy, bullying and harassing; the list of options for the discerning brilliant jerk is nearly endless.
Tolerating a brilliant jerk in your organization at any level is not great, but there’s one thing that must NEVER HAPPEN:
A brilliant jerk can’t get into a position that requires ongoing people leadership.
The reason for this is that, every growth company’s major issue is communication, and brilliant jerks shut communication down. No one will be honest around them; people clam up because there’s very little trust there. As a result, communication is stifled.
When communication breaks down, trust erodes, and when trust is gone, the game is about over.
Act on your brilliant jerks and their co-workers will rise up.
