Do you know that colleague? That person everyone tries to avoid? Because he/she is difficult to work with? Doesn’t listen? Has an “I know best” attitude? Mostly talks about what is best for him or her? And then you talk to people who worked with them some years ago? And they describe a completely different person? Can a bad colleague have been a good colleague in the past? Yes. But how does that happen? Here are the causes I have seen the most.

Promotion

It’s nice getting a promotion, but it is also one of the biggest risks of becoming a bad colleague. Why?

People are put in the new position without proper coaching or guidance

A person is ready for a new position. But of course, the work is new, the responsibilities are unknown. Still, it is up to the promoted person to figure out how he or she should do a good job. And while that person doesn’t get help in doing it right, they do get comments when they do it wrong. That is: when management isn’t happy. You see them struggle. They don’t know how to do it right, they cannot know. But still, they are getting bad feedback as if it was their fault.

Another variation is a person that doesn’t get any feedback at all. It’s now completely their responsibility, their problem. They can make any mistake they want, no one will tell them. They can make your work so much harder, but you will have no one to turn to.

Because of pressure and/or will to prove they can do their job, they change into an “I know best” or “Just do what I say” person. While they were appreciated before their promotion, after the promotion they are seen as bossy and unrealistic.

People cannot handle being responsible for more people/products

Many people get a promotion because they know so much about the product. Or they are so good at working with their team. But when they get promoted, all of a sudden they are responsible for more people and products. And they do not have time to spend the same amount of time on those products and/or people as in their previous position. 

While before they were talking about people and products with knowledge, now they still keep talking about them, but with far less knowledge. When you complain about this or try to inform them of the reality, they don’t have time. Too much work. Other things are more important. And you should trust their experience. That’s why they got the promotion in the first place.

New projects and/or customers

Your company is cheering. You have a new client. Or you are starting on a new product. Or even better: your company wants to improve, so an improvement project is started. What can be wrong with those things? These kinds of good news shouldn’t change your colleagues into bad people. So, what happens?

Too much work

New projects and customers mean extra work. Certainly, if that work gets deadlines, a situation can occur where there is too much work for the available time. And since people have to find that time somewhere, they start skipping things. The quality of their work goes down. They stop asking questions and just do what they are told, no matter if it is the right thing to do. They prioritize based on ‘Management says’ or ‘It’s not causing problems in production’. When you talk to them, they feel attacked very easily. What else can they do?

Too many meetings

People are shared in several teams. Or the company involves them in a lot of “side-projects”, very often for improving product or the company. In both situations, the number of meetings increases a lot. Looking at hours almost half of the workweek, or maybe even far more than half of the workweek, is spent talking to other people.

If you are lucky, that person will “only” have no time for you. While before that person was doing a good job, now you are lucky if they can do their job at all. If you are unlucky that person won’t even be willing to discuss the problems caused by this. Because talking about the problems is another meeting. And that person doesn’t want another meeting. There are already too many meetings on his or her agenda.

Rimple effect

What makes this situation even more dangerous is the rimple effect. When someone is “turning bad” because of a promotion, the people he or she is responsible for are much more likely to also “turn bad”. Because they are falsely labeled as “doing something wrong”. Or they feel no one is listening to them. They will start caring less about their work or they start complaining more and more.

When a person isn’t available enough, other people start filling in the gaps. This means those persons are also less available. And if you are unlucky you will now have extra people that are not able to do their job anymore. Besides the fact that people start complaining about those persons and lose motivation for their job.

Don’t deny

The only option you have in solving any of those problems: don’t deny. Don’t deny the fact that a person has less time. Don’t deny that a person is not doing a good job. And, if you are the unlucky ‘turning bad’ one, don’t deny you do not get the time or coaching to do a good job. Don’t deny you cannot do, what you could do before. Don’t deny the complaints other people have about you before you have listened to them. Maybe, if the denial isn’t present, you can turn this situation around. Or even prevent it.