Who's currently dealing with a sociopath in the office?
Is anyone else dealing with a coworker that manufactures crisis, doesn't understand boundaries, and is constantly looking for sympathy while pointing fingers? 1 in 25 people are sociopaths so some of you are likely dealing with this now. How are you coping while this person is causing constant stress? Are you a target of their chaos? What has it done to your team? How's your manager handling it?
For a second, I thought you are someone from the White House. In tech industry, probability of coming across such personality is high. I dare say that every dev team in any company will have at-least one such person. Someone in your team might be thinking exactly the same thing about you...perspective matters...
Does the squad work in your office?
I am the squad.
Yes, our VP of Engineering. I have been a target, as has one of my teams. Itβs affected morale. We deal with it by speaking up and asking questions at meetings (we donβt let him off the hook), effective use of email, and by reporting him to HR when appropriate. I also skip-level with his boss, our CEO, when necessary. It is a lot of stress, and my personal coping strategy includes exercise and outdoor activities. I also read a bit about stoicism, and took up journaling. Writing my thoughts down keeps me from over thinking a situation, and has the added benefit of tracking his behavior.
Was he fired?
Thank you for sharing this great, practical advice!
Any time I have worked with a person like this they were fairly quickly fired. I've just been lucky to have good managers watching out for the rest of us I guess.
We have several and have had many others. Sadly those at C level really buy-in to sociopath's games and consider them just brilliant jerks. Wish they weren't so blind.
Thatβs not a sociopath. How about becoming a psychologist before diagnosing people with mental illness?
A person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience.
The manager is the sociopath.
I am the sociopath.