How to deal with ‘weaponized incompetence’ at work

We’ve all dealt with co-workers who are bad at their jobs but good at fueling their own incompetence. your problem — from A boss who promises too much (just expect you to do all the work) Colleagues who can’t work easily (but i’m too happy I leave their work to you).

This habit of feigning incompetence at work in order to make someone else responsible,Weaponized incompetence,” It can show up at work in a variety of ways. Sometimes co-workers are really incompetent. Other times they can work—they don’t care To.Either way, their refusal or incompetence Doing my job properly becomes my problem blamed them for their failure Also forced to work they then Please trust me.

How to recognize (and deal with) your boss’s weaponized incompetence

〇Key Signs of Weaponized Incompetence in Bosses when they seem ignorant about what It really takes time to complete a project.they might assume a have a specific task 2 hours to completeinstead of the more realistic 12 hours. 〇r they don’t Know your employees’ actual workload looks like For some bosses, this ignorance may be real. For others, this incompetence is strategic. They’ve learned that they can make a lot of big commitments, so that hard work gets passed on to employees who have to rush to get the job done. which one the boss gets pull credit Off, in fact, they offered little support.

“Many leaders think that because the organization encourages this and I will repay it.” Tessa WestNYU social psychologist and author of the book Jerks at Work: Toxic Coworkers and How to Deal With Them.

This means that incompetent bosses make promises, force employees to deliver on them without offering much support, and then reward them for their accomplishments in hopes of the fact that they will be promoted. It turns into a self-repeating cycle that enjoys another group of higher-The Ups realize how little they were.

“The higher and more powerful a person is, the easier it is for them to get away without doing what they are supposed to do. because they are,” he said. Daphne Jones Breakthrough Career Coach and Book Author win when they say you don’t.

T.The strength of numbers when dealing with bosses like this is: “Their kryptonite is allowing targets to discover each other,” West said.If people can come together and show a pattern of incompetence, it’s Easy to see upper part What’s really going on and how it’s affecting your productivity. “A widespread issue is scarier for a boss than her one-off confrontation between two people,” he says West.

How to Recognize (and Deal with) the Weaponized Incompetence of Your Colleagues

Similarly, IFa colleague Can’t (or won’t) do many tasks Given their position, it would be expected of them, That’s a red flag. “At certain positions, People are expected to have certain broad or specific abilities and abilities,” Jones said. “If you have them, your colleagues probably should. that too. ”

If they don’t have these skills they can get sick-proper role or their incompetence may be a way of shifting these responsibilities onto others. I recommend trying to find a way to handle the situation with your boss. “It starts with good communication,” she said.

If you have a good relationship with your co-workers, ask them if they have any blind spots. If not, reporting your contributions to your boss is a useful way to make sure you’re getting the proper approval for your work. “Let [your boss] Please take it as a fact, not as a complaint, about the status of your project’s performance and how you helped others who deployed their weaponized incompetence.