Everyone has a coworker who tries to be the boss. It is annoying and you just want to tell the person you do not want to hear from them. But, there are ways to deal with them. Speaking up in the moment is one thing you can do. It’s hard to not be silent, but it is much better to tell them then to keep it inside.
Key Takeaways:
- Avoid “you” statements (“You were wrong because . . . “) as it’ll likely just make him defensive.
- Not everyone’s comfortable making the jump from saying nothing to advocating for themselves. An intermediate step is elevating someone else on your team—which is an equally effective tactic to make sure decisions are distributed more fairly.
- The best way to broach the topic is not to throw your colleague under the bus, which could make you sound like you’re coming from a place of competition or jealousy.
“Not everyone’s comfortable making the jump from saying nothing to advocating for themselves. An intermediate step is elevating someone else on your team—which is an equally effective tactic to make sure decisions are distributed more fairly.”
