Minister of Employment (New Zealand)

Manipulative, distrustful, self-serving: how to deal with a Machiavellian boss

Retrieved on:

Donnerstag, Juli 20, 2023

You won’t get paid for the extra hours but you’ve been assured there will be kudos from senior management.

Key Points:

You won’t get paid for the extra hours but you’ve been assured there will be kudos from senior management.
A Machiavellian personality is self-serving, opportunistic and ambitious – traits that can help them attain positions of power and status.
Working for a Machiavellian boss is likely to be infuriating, stressful and bad for your mental health.
By understanding what drives this personality, and how it differs from the other “dark personality traits”, you can limit the fallout.

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527) was a diplomat in Florence during a period of power struggle involving the powerful Medici family.
When the Medicis returned to rule the city in 1512 after almost two decades in exile, he was briefly imprisoned and then banished.
“The lion cannot protect himself from traps,” it says, “and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves.

However, while the three traits are lumped together due to their antisocial qualities, there are important differences.
Narcissism is a set of traits as well as a personality disorder, characterised by egoism, self-absorption and the need to feel superior to others.
Psychopathy is also a diagnosable personality disorder, defined by lack of empathy or conscience.
The boss who assures you they have your best interests at heart might just be telling you what you want to believe.

A Machiavellian boss may seek to manipulate
with flattery or bullying, promising reward or threatening punishment.
So how to deal with a Machiavellian boss?
The first lesson is to be clear about what drives a Machiavellian personality.
You can’t trust a Machiavellian, and need to deal with them cautiously.
But distrusting your boss and operating with a “strike before the other does” mindset will, if you’re a relatively normal person, be emotionally draining.

Retrieved on:

Freitag, Juni 16, 2023

Just as you begin, a colleague sighs and shares an eye-roll with their buddy.

Key Points:

Just as you begin, a colleague sighs and shares an eye-roll with their buddy.
This type of incivility doesn’t quite rise to the level where you can complain to human resources and expect a satisfying resolution.
But incivility – being less severe and more difficult to prove – tends to fly under the radar.
Most of us will experience incivility at some point at work.

Certainly such behaviour is much more likely from people with dysfunctional personality traits, especially the “dark triad” of narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism.
Incivility can therefore become a vicious spiral that turns victims and bystanders into perpetrators.
Read more:
What Jeremy Clarkson taught us about incivility in the workplace

We’re social creatures and learn what’s expected and acceptable from those we look up to.
Incivility is most harmful when it comes from a supervisor: someone we’re supposed to trust, who’s supposed to look after us.
With the capacity for one individual to make life a misery for many colleagues, this leadership failure can lead to a toxic workplace culture.

With colleagues Stephen Teo and David Pick, I’ve surveyed 230 nurses across Australia about the leadership qualities that help reduce incivility.
Our research shows that authentic leadership promotes workplace cultures with less incivility and better well-being.
Such authentic leaders are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses, act on their values even under pressure, and work to understand how their leadership affects others.

If this is happening to you, or others in your workplace, avoiding it won’t help you or your colleagues.
Putting up with incivility is emotionally taxing, entrenches feelings of resentment and will likely lead to bigger conflicts down the track.
One approach recommended by psychologists when dealing with high-conflict personalities is known as the BIFF technique: be brief, informative, friendly and firm.
You don’t have to go at it alone either: consider inviting colleagues who can support you, and your claims.
If your manager is the perpetrator, contact your HR department first (if your organisation has one) or else your union.