How to understand that a colleague should not be trusted
Miscellaneous / / March 17, 2022
An unreliable employee can be identified by three simple characteristics.
If you are not a sole proprietor, you probably have to rely a lot on the competence of your colleagues. You need honest feedback and quality work from other team members to do yours well. Three simple steps will help you figure out who you can trust and who is better not to.
1. See how well he works
When you work on a joint project, you need people who are painstakingly and carefully carry out their tasks. This requires only one quality - conscientiousness. To recognize its presence or absence in others can be on several grounds.
Firstly, a colleague must have a reputation as a person who always keeps his word and carries out assignments. Listen to which team members are regularly praised for professional achievement and success. Most likely, these are the most conscientious people.
Secondly, this quality is very noticeable in the daily routine. Someone who constantly forgets the names of colleagues or clients can hardly be trusted with important work with details. Repeated minor mistakes signal that the work of an employee must be double-checked, which means that conscientiousness is definitely not his forte.
And thirdly, such people know how to effectively distribute their workload. Colleagues who answer “yes” to every offer are likely to fail to meet all of their commitments on time. It is better to trust the work to people who know how to prioritize.
2. See how he behaves with others
Another important element of trust has to do with whether our merit is recognized at work. Sometimes our contribution to the common cause is obvious. But more often than not, our efforts get lost in the final product that top management sees.
Listen to how your colleagues, who present the results of the team to the main persons of the company, speak about the work of others. If they mention their merits, then they will not forget about your contribution to the common project.
The same applies to how people talk about their defeats. It is important for a leader to protect his team from project failure. He will help a promising employee to become better and will take responsibility for his mistakes. This means that you need to be wary of leaders who constantly blame everyone around for their failures and do not know how to take responsibility for their work and the work of their subordinates.
3. Hear what he says about others
Sometimes talking to co-workers who constantly gossip or complain can even be fun. However, it is much better to stay away from such people. There are at least two reasons for this.
The first is that the one who speaks badly of others rarely confines himself to the same people. If he complains to you about someone, then most likely he complains to someone about you. You should not get close to a person who attracts attention to himself, harming someone else's reputation.
Second, gossips tend to create a toxic workplace environment. People with whom they closely communicate will be subconsciously perceived by others from the same point of view. Do not harm your reputation, and it is better to team up with those who will help you, and not pull you down with you.
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