Red Flags to Spot Self Serving Employees
We’ve all worked on teams or been around people who are only in it for themselves. These self-serving people don’t care who they need to step on or what they need to do to make it to the top.
Self-serving employees are the antithesis of the future of work. They don’t work as a team and often actively bring down the people around them. If you work with a self-serving employee, it can be difficult to break free and find success and positivity. But the first step to breaking away is identifying the problem.
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Here are three red flags to spot self-serving employees.
They are constantly criticizing or blaming others.
Self-serving people are quick to blame other people, especially when the team fails and they didn’t do the right thing. The defensive mentality brings down the entire team as the self-serving employee tries to criticize other people to make themselves look good.
They are always trying to be in control.
Self-serving employees love to take charge and make their voice heard, even if that means speaking over people or not letting more qualified and capable people take the lead. They think that what other people have to say isn’t as good as what they have to say. The constant need to be in control can squash collaboration and stunt the development of potential leaders.
They encourage extreme competition.
Some degree of competition can be effective to help people grow and progress, but self-serving employees take it too far and pit themselves against other people to try to crush them. Extreme competition takes away from team dynamics and can hold the team back from succeeding as a group.
If you recognize these red flags in any of your colleagues — or even in yourself — take a step back to change the situation. It might be time to speak to a leader or remove yourself from the group to rid yourself of the negativity and toxicity of self-serving employees.
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