151 Quick Ideas to Deal With Difficult People

128Red Alert: A Colleague Belittles You in Front of the Boss

Some opponents are fond of surgical strikes. The dictionary defines such attacks as usually without warning and intended for a specific target. They’re potent, especially when the strike hits its mark—you—in front of the boss.

In the attacker’s mind, the smaller you look in front of the boss the bigger she will appear. So while the boss is chatting informally with a group including you and your assailant, she will gleefully point out that you left a cover sheet off a report but she took care of the oversight. She will also mention that the phone numbers you passed along were outdated and slowed down her attempts to contact a former client. All of this is information that could have ...