Have you ever met a person that only talks about what they have achieved? It was their ideas and their motivation that made the sale, saved the money or made the company a better place. Everything is an over bloated story about themselves; I refer to this behavior as the “me” complex.
Spotting the “Me” complex and how it damages your workplace:
- Overestimating their abilities – You hired someone based on their ability, if that ability is short of what you need, you may have to take extra time to train or rehire.
- Not a teammate – They cannot cooperate with others on projects and you have to deal with the fallout or pick up the slack.
- Delusions of superiority – Everyone works for them, including you. They may even use others ideas as their own and take it to another company that can offer them more.
- What others can do for “me” – This person is only interested in what you can do for them and not what they can do for your company.
- Criticism of former colleagues to show superiority – Just imagine what they may be saying about you and your company.
If you recognize these traits in one of your staff members, it’s best to have a meeting sooner rather than later. If they can be redirected down a better path the whole company will benefit.
