Dealing with That Person...

You know who I mean - that one person who crawled out of their own personal hell to spread hate and dissension at the office.  Hopefully you are not that person.  If you are, stop reading now.  They may be a project manager, or even worse, the head cheese.  Nothing says I value you like sitting in a meeting and listening to someone find a flaw in everyone or everything that people in the office do on a daily basis.  Even worse is getting cornered in your cube or office.  The situation can be dire, and you may contemplate passing out to get rid of the person (bad idea, they may try to resuscitate you).  How do you, the cube dweller, a person not in a position to change personnel, deal with "that person"?  There are a number of way to confront this situation, so let's start with the worst way and work backward to the best situation

Confrontation

You spend a few hours the night before role playing the confrontation (with or without Wild West music), and bide your time to finally put "that person" in their place.  It may be that someone told you to confront bullies when you were a kid.  I did that once in high school, to the star wrestler who had a penchant for bullying soccer players.  Not a good result.  I escaped (barely).  Confronting the office bully will result in one of two things - they will curtail their genetic disposition for a little while, or you will get it even worse from that point forward.  Mostly likely the latter.  You might as well paint a bulls-eye on your back.  As Andy Andrews says, "Directly confronting what someone believes is a waste of time".  Or, as Dave Ramsey says, "Those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still."  Resist that urge to unleash the dogs of war.  It will not go as planned.  Trust me.

Complain

You rally the troops and spend productive work time complaining and gossiping about "that person".  End result?  Same situation, only now there is a underlying tension throughout the office.  If you work for an effective leader this may lead to your release back to the wilds of unemployment.  Even worse, the very person you are complaining about gets wind of the dissension, and decides to turn it up a notch.  Way to go, hero!

Remember the Golden Rule

No, this isn't a cop-out attempt.  There is a high probability that there is absolutely nothing you can do to change the personality of the office bully.  Best thing you can do for yourself, and your ever increasing cortisol levels, is to just chalk it up to another one of life's lessons and move out smartly.  Treat that person the way you would like to be treated.  Don't gossip, don't complain, and don't confront.  Try to knock them over with kindness.  I'm not advocating sucking up, I'm just trying to clear the air in the office.  Maybe, and this is just a maybe, you can help the entire place by setting the example.  You'll be a better person and a better co-worker regardless of the outcome.

How Steve Martin Can Help You!

I am a HUGE Steve Martin fan (it's okay Steve, I forgive you for the Father of the Bride movies).  What I especially admire about him is the way he takes calculated "risks" that may be viewed as extreme (like when he walked away from stand up comedy) to the "bizarre" ( Grammy award for Best Bluegrass Album).  I don't think banjo playing is bizarre, but hey, there are some who aren't quite enlightened just yet.  What's the point?  Steve has changed as the times have changed.  Look at his role in "The Jerk" to his most recent role in "The Big Year".  He's matured as an actor, and you can really tell that he doesn't necessarily take himself too seriously.  I follow him on Twitter just to see what off the wall things he has to say.  He's an accomplished musician, author, multiple Grammy award winner, Emmy award winner and, best of all, the winner of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.  When you start to feel like you cannot make that next step in your career or life, just  remember that you need to change with the times.  Don't be that guy who doesn't understand how to use a computer because you never had one when you started in the industry. But, most importantly, don't be flaky, be real, and be humble.  I saw Steve in Colorado last year and he was amazing.  He's not pretentious about his success, he just embodies it.  He truly loves what he does, and he has helped others to the top along the way.  And buy a banjo!  Steve Martin and Mark Twain can't both be wrong!

Positive Attitude Conquers Everything

It sounds cliche, and for some it really isn't something they will opt to implement.  But for those of us that aren't in a leadership role, this is the most important mantra you can have in your arsenal.  There are days when everything is going to go wrong, where the one time the boss is actually paying attention you or your teammates drop the ball.  Each day is a new day, and how you choose to approach that day sets the stage for how it will end.  So you hit every red light on the way to work - does that mean that you can treat your clients or your co-workers poorly?  Take a deep breath, let all that negativity go, and smile.  That's your reset button.  Just say to yourself, "Positive Attitude Conquers Everything", or if you are more inclined, "P.A.C.E".  Most importantly, remember that if you are having a bad day because of something that happened at the office, chances are you are not the only one rowing that boat.  Go shine it on a little bit and spread some cheer!

Keep the Momentum

In the aftermath, you always ask yourself, "Where did it all go wrong?".  I'm willing to bet it was the loss of momentum that was your undoing.  Momentum is often the friend of the cubicle dweller.  Without it we tend to wander like a herd of sheep, first in one direction, then another.  Multi-tasking is a momentum killer.  Don't confuse this with working on multiple projects, or even project planning.  Proper planning prevents poor performance.  Skipping from project to project will result in team fatigue.  A fatigued team doesn't fire on all cylinders.  Pretty easy concept?  Yes.  Easy to fix?  Not necessarily.  Team leaders need to plan for contingencies in such a manner as to take into account the multi-task fatigue.  But the reality is this: the project manager has less to do with keeping things on task than the people working on the project.  Keep a simple bullet list of action items and bring that to the planning or team meetings.  Keep on top of what is needed before it is too late.  In the end things will go much more smoothly than waiting for your project manager to step up and intuit what you need.

Keep on top of your action items is one part of the puzzle.  The other part is keeping the multiple tasks and projects rolling on toward completion.  Some people prefer to use something similar to the Pomodoro technique or to use the task list in Outlook.  Others are old school and use sticky notes.  Whatever your preference, use it!  Without it you will inevitably miss an important task and cause a small (or worst case a huge) pile up.  Take reliance off of your project manager and put it more on yourself to manage the tasks you were assigned.  Use the manager to procure items that you cannot do without coming off task.  Don't think of yourself as another cog in the wheel, instead think of yourself as an important piece that keeps the machine rolling (you need each spark plug to make the car run optimally...).