The world is filled with toxic people, and working with them is a pain. The key is to learn how to identify them early on, but this can be challenging.
When you meet a person for the first time, you are seeing them at their best selves. So when I find someone hard to get along with or who displays behavior I can’t explain, I get away quickly.
In my 10-plus years of being a CEO, investor and founder, I’ve worked with thousands of people in business, and there are five types of toxic personalities I see over and over again.
To avoid working with these people as much as possible, watch for these signs:
1. Withholders
Withholders are unable to deliver praise or feel happy when someone else steps up and contributes to a group success. They are wired by insecurity or the need for domination.
They resent anyone who possesses skills they don’t have or who doesn’t feel the same self-loathing that they are plagued with. If you are thriving, they see it as their mission to bring you down.
How to handle them: Withholders take advantage of those who don’t speak up. Actively point out the strengths you each bring to the table. Demonstrate that, with your combined efforts, you can both achieve positive results.
2. Hijackers
It’s not always so brazen and extreme, but Hijackers are essentially Withholders with the added bonus of aggression. They want to trade on your vulnerability, take what you are great at, and claim it for themselves.
I’ve seen a lot of Hijackers in managerial roles. What they don’t understand is that to extract value from creatives, they must be empathetic to other people’s deficiencies — instead of trying to exploit them.
How to handle them: Own your achievements and demand credit when it’s due. Hijackers are less likely to bully someone who is assertive and who displays a strong sense of confidence.
3. Victims
Generally, good performers live in a place of gratitude. They don’t feel entitled to success, so they’re thrilled and thankful when it arrives.
But Victims live…
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