There are different types of people that thrive within each company or organization in terms of performance levels. There are the under-performers — those who lag behind in output and delivery of tasks; there are so-so performers — a bunch who do relatively well but are not as exceptional as their bosses would expect; and there are brilliant performers — whose manic performances drive the company towards achieving collective goals.
The last type seems to be the favorite of many individuals from upper management. However, there are instances where these brilliant performers tend to savor the glory too much, causing them to resort to actions and behavior that hurt their colleagues or the company. They perform extremely well but at the same time, they disable processes and goals. Here are the things you need to be wary of if you want to find out if you’re dealing with a brilliant jerk.
They cover for people on holidays.
Have you ever had that colleague who’s always first to volunteer to work on holidays? Have you ever had that workmate who was always ready to cover for those who couldn’t make it to work? This person might have the characteristics of a brilliant jerk, so employee, beware. Brilliant jerks tend to cover for their colleagues on holidays or weekends. They do this in order to look much busier than they actually are; and they do this to appear like they’re the “hero” who would go to great heights and lengths to push company goals forward. Being a hero gives them the power of convincing people around them (the boss included) to give in to special favors they might need to ask in the future.
They fill the room with subtle yet consistent complaints about work.
The brilliant jerk keeps on questioning why things don’t go the way they should. He or she becomes your mini-complaint department who expresses discontent and dissatisfaction over issues such as the lack of natural light in the workplace or the depleted pantry supply. What’s more sneaky about this is that this person never lets the boss hear about all the complaining he or she does. These people might be great producers; but they can do harm in the littlest act of hurting the team’s morale through these subtle complaints.
They refuse to do menial tasks because they think it’s beneath them.
There are people who would never take a job that requires them to make coffee. There are employees who would never pick up the business phone when it starts ringing even if it’s right beside their desks because they think that it is the secretary or the receptionist is the one who should be doing those tasks. And most managers get it — these employees don’t want to do small tasks because they think they’re too good to be doing such lowly assignments (too full of themselves, perhaps). The thing is that they don’t need to worry about doing these tasks; and that they should just go ahead and make the coffee and be glad that the boss doesn’t require them to do grocery shopping or change diapers. The brilliant jerk should realize that some other unemployed people would kill to make coffee for a boss or pick up the phone as part of their daily office tasks.
In any organization, it’s not too bad to understand and get an idea of your worth; but when you start spreading the bad vibes and start stepping on other people’s toes, maybe it’s time to reevaluate whether or not you’re still helping the company move forward. Maybe it’s time to start looking for another place where you’ll be able to contribute without being a jerk.
