How NOT to Lead

CHAPTER 7Beware the Brilliant Jerk…

Don’t be a jerk. Even if you are brilliant, don’t be a brilliant jerk.

—Girish Mathrubhootam

We must deal with a brilliant jerk at work at some point in our careers. Brilliant jerks are everywhere; sometimes, they are even CEOs. Other times, the brilliant jerk is the head of technology, or they might be a customer service person. But they exist. Unfortunately, in most organizations, the brilliant jerk gets praised by management while making everyone else's life a living hell. Sometimes, their jerkiness is recognized—confusingly, their attitude may be foolishly endorsed or accepted as quirkiness. Other times, their toxicity goes unnoticed by the people in the executive suite, but the impact of these corrosive personalities is never unknown to those who work with them directly.

Everyone can be a jerk. I am a jerk monthly for a variety of reasons. I also freely admit that if you asked 100 people about me, a few of them would certainly say, “That guy is a jerk.” That's fine; everyone has their bad days. What we are talking about here is the employee who is continually a jerk. Most often, this jerkiness comes from an amalgamation of ego and a lack of solid interpersonal skills. I have often seen the brilliant jerk openly deriding others within an organization. Brilliant jerks are typically okay with pointing out other people's failures and shortcomings as they sit on their throne of jerkdom. However, if anyone challenges the jerk, the jerk ups ...