However sincere or committed you may be towards your work, that may not be enough. There may be someone who tricks you into giving up credit or doing their share of the work. Like in the game show Survivor, you may be blind-sided by a competitive colleague.
Psychologist Eric Berne wrote a book “Games People Play” just to highlight this aspect of human behaviour. Especially at work, people often hide their real motivations under the veneer of peer comradery. For instance, in the game he calls “Now I’ve Got You, You Son of a Bitch” people may trick you by putting the whole blame on you when there is some mistake in a joint project or assignment.
So, how does one avoid becoming a prey to such games and tricks at work?
Pride before the fall
Maria Kannikova explores how to avoid falling for a trap in her book, “The Confidence Game”. She says that we often fall for tricks because we may be too proud to see that we could be gullible. We let our guards fall under the guise of confidence.
According to her Pride is the biggest culprit in this scenario.
To learn from one of the best, Elon Musk combines his leadership with an amazing humbling technique. Musk doesn’t seem afraid of looking bad if he’s wrong about something. He frames such errors in terms of information availability: If he’s wrong about something, it was because his understanding of the world has changed, and that’s perfectly okay.
If we keep such an open mindset, we could be more alert to manipulative behaviour at work.
It is fine to be selfish
Often, we are swayed by emotional and sentimental arguments by others. But it is fine to put your goals and targets before others at work. Lot of us blindsided professionally by their rivals because they let their personal humanity and chivalry, or the “comfort” of their office environment, distract them from their own personal interests. When Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook with the focus of a single-mindedness, he was considered eccentric. But now he is seen as one of biggest success of this generation.
Isolation is dangerous
Don’t become an island at work, as this increases your vulnerability to being tricked. It is better to have collaborations and alliances that protect you, and share responsibility. It is also better to test your colleagues before blindly trusting their word for it.
These cautious hacks could help you to avoid becoming a prey to tricks at work.
