Recently, I have been very interested in the topic dedicated to assholes in general and corporate assholes in particular, since I have to deal with them all the time. In this article I will talk about the ways how they can be identified even at the interview stage, i.e. before you started working with them.
After starting work in any organization, a week will be enough for you to understand how comfortable it is for you to work there, how friendly your colleagues are and whether your boss is adequate. Unfortunately, if everything is bad, then the situation can be solved only by dismissal. The process is unpleasant, sometimes painful. In addition, work experience of a week or two raises questions from prospective employers.
Therefore, it is better to determine whether your potential boss is a tyrant and an asshole even before you began to cooperate.. Make an informed decision so that you don't pay too high a price for a mistake later. Constant work in an atmosphere of fear and mistrust, humiliation and guilt can destroy your life, present and future.
Over the years, I have become convinced that any organization is a reflection of its leader: his enthusiasm or apathy, love of life or pessimism, positive or anger. Therefore, it is very important to be able to identify the boss - an asshole at the interview stage and refuse to work with him.
3 signals for an interview, seeing which you need to run from the company
Corporate values
If, at the interview stage, they start pushing you about corporate values, you have a serious reason to think. Of course, values are important. Every person and every group has them, regardless of its size. These values are manifested, first of all, in concrete actions, in relation to people and between people. For example, were you met at an interview, were you helped to find a seat, were you offered a chair and a drink. You can also see the values in action by observing the interviewer's behavior towards you and towards other people in the interview. This is not always obvious, but sometimes positive or negative points can be noticed.
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Keep in mind that these values were created and will be used only in order to make you feel inferior, inadequate, and guilty. all that snake tangle of negative and destructive emotions that assholes are trying to impose on you. It is easier and more convenient to do this through declaration of values. Some even have whole lists of these values. Can you imagine? A collection of noose for all occasions! BDSM of the brain.
Not long ago, when I heard about values, I thought: “What if? What if they really have values for people? " But no. Once again, I was convinced that there are no exceptions.
Or vice versa. There are and continue to unpleasantly surprise. I recently came across the fact that a potential leader in a conversation with me called, discussed and condemned former and current colleagues for inconsistency with the values they invented, described their actions and characterized them in a negative way. He almost literally said: "Only assholes work with me." If you hear something like this, it's best to run immediately.
If I hear a phrase like "There is no money, but there are many values that you have to comply with," then I perceive it as "You work, you fool, we will give you a badge." And this is at its best.
Do not confuse company values with rules and regulations, schedule and routine. This includes the dress code, opening hours, and other rules governing work. They are not values.
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It's great when a company has real values. This means that the team or company values those who work in it. I would even say that the team appreciates Everyone who works nearby, is proud of their people. In particular, for the fact that they are constantly learning, participating in conferences, helping newcomers and each other. And that's great. Such values are posted on the site, HR people proudly tell about them, they brag about them. And for those who meet similar values, it is great motivation to get into such a team, to be like the people who work in such a team.
But everything changes when values are used as a criterion for evaluating a person. For example, if a person reads 2 books in a month, is he in line with the values or not? And if not one, is it bad and does not fit? It seems to me that values are, first of all, what the team members value each other for, and not the way of dividing into their own - someone else's, bad - good. Their meaning is that we value those who work with us. If this is critical, it is easy to test a candidate simply by asking him questions, rather than trying to fit him into your standards by force.
It's not about values, but what they are used for. For example, this: "We quickly admit our mistakes." Sounds very reasonable and correct. I agree with that. But in practice it turned out that you were mistaken or not, and in what exactly your mistake determines the authorities. And the value immediately transforms into the following: “We do not argue with the authorities. And we don't need someone who violates values. " The topic of dismissal for inconsistency with values sounded 5 times at the interview.
When I was told at the interview that during the next meeting they would tell me about corporate values and we would be discussing my compliance with these values for an hour and a half, I almost fell off my chair.
I wrote about this use of values. When values turn into a Procrustean bed, into which they are trying to drive and trample you.
In my opinion, one of the most important values is everyone's personal freedom, which does not interfere with someone else's personal freedom. It cannot be based on suppression, only on free choice.
And productivity has not been canceled, as have the rules and requirements of the company. It is important to distinguish from real values so that values do not become a tool of manipulation.
Therefore, if suddenly, at the stage of communication with a recruiter or hiring manager, you hear something about the values that you must meet - do not think, run. Most likely, in front of you is an asshole who cannot be remade.
Reaction to your questions
Before or after the interview, it's appropriate to ask the HR how the interview went. You can ask polite questions about a potential boss. This is normal. You can also chat with potential colleagues, ask about what interests you. Through social. the network is easy to do. It can be very helpful to talk to those who worked before you in the position for which you are applying. As with other former employees. In this case, the assessment will be more objective and complete.
It may even be negative. Nobody's perfect. In this case, you can decide in advance whether you can put up with the shortcomings of a potential leader.
It is worth worrying when there is no reaction, or when it is sluggish and indistinct.
If you do not get answers, shy away from direct answers, or they are too streamlined and incomprehensible, something is wrong.
The fact is that most people really don't like talking badly about others, especially behind their backs. This is just unpleasant, so they are silent.
If, in response to a question about a specific person, you hear silence, and not from one, but from all colleagues, it means that they have not found a single good word for him. And this is very sad, first of all, for himself.
In addition, tyrants and assholes are bosses, and simply toxic employees create a disgusting atmosphere of fear, self-doubt, disgust and guilt around them. This atmosphere is so oppressive that it is difficult and disgusting not only to talk, but even to think about who creates it.
So they are silent not only about the dead.
First of all, they are silent about assholes and tyrants.
Yes, you might argue that there may be a corporate ethics that prohibits discussing bosses and even colleagues. See point one. Any set of rules, statutes, is created to ensure complete and unquestioning obedience. While this is justified in the army and some other structures, in business companies it raises questions.
I was once interviewed by a large international company. After the end of the next stage, I asked a completely innocent question to a girl - an HRC about the company, or about the next steps in the interview process. I don’t remember already. And in her eyes I saw a wall of fear and confusion. And I immediately realized that in a company based not on respect but on fear, I don't want to work. If you see this look in response to your questions, run.
Reaction to your opinion
Even if none of the above triggers have fired, this is not a guarantee of successful work. Especially if you are used to working creatively and making decisions on your own.
In many organizations, you will be treated well, and will communicate with respect. And you might even like it. Some positions simply do not provide for decision making, and in some, creativity is completely absent. Sometimes the employer just needs "hands". I have enough ideas. If that suits you, why not?
For many, it is important to make decisions on their own. Moreover, many positions, especially managerial ones, require independent decision-making.
Nevertheless, I had to deal with situations where almost any initiative was blocked by a superior manager. Only one opinion was accepted, the opinion of the management. The entire office played, and probably still plays, an addicting game called "Guess What's on Your Mind." And if the "bosses" had not yet come to a definite opinion, then the office would find itself in a dead end and freeze.
I will not discuss the correctness or incorrectness of this strategy. Each owner and manager himself has the right to choose the style of leadership. But the applicant has the right to decide whether this style suits him or not. And for this you need, at least, to know about it.
There is one nuance. This applies only to those areas in which the head of the company or department understands himself. Or he thinks he understands. If this is not the case, he will not interfere, no matter how much he wants to.
In an interview, it is difficult to determine whether your opinion will be appreciated. You can use the advice from the previous paragraphs and talk to former contacts or employees. You may be able to learn about the leadership style of the company and make an informed decision.
However, some points can be clarified.
Pay attention to how your opinions and ideas are being treated. You will surely be asked questions and listen to your answers.
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If during the dialogue it was not possible to clarify the topic of freedom of initiative, ask the question yourself. Probably, as you studied the company, you came up with ideas that you could do differently. Tell us about them. Ask them how they feel about your idea. Most companies worth working for will only be happy with your thoughts and ideas, even if they have no value. They will just be happy if you are interested.
If you meet a wave of cold misunderstanding and negativity, you have a reason to think and clarify the situation. Perhaps the company just needs "hands". Or perhaps your opinion does not interest anyone in principle.
Summary
If you do not want to get to the boss - tyrant, spend your nerves and health on work, and then on dismissal, then here are 3 triggers that you should pay attention to.
- I impose values on you and demand to observe them
- Everyone is silent. About the boss, about the company. Shy away from conversation and fear.
- They give you the "correct opinion" even in the field of which you are a specialist.
Even the presence of one of them is a serious reason to be wary. However, you decide.
There are many videos on this topic on YouTube. Here is one of them.
A much more interesting situation arises when the asshole is yourself . However, there is a hope that realizing himself as an asshole, realizing all the inferiority and destructiveness of his behavior, a person. ceases to be. Who knows? I really hope for it.
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