Who is your Kryptonite? (And how to overcome them)

Everyone has someone at work who is their kryptonite, someone who makes you feel powerless, threatened and at risk.

Here’s how to deal with them.

• Remember that they are only one person, and one person seldom has complete power over you. Surround yourself with others who do support you and what you do. They could be peers, internal customers etc.
• Remember that they are not right. Its just their view, and that doesn’t mean its everyone’s view. The world is not against you.
• Minimise the effect. Can you pinpoint their concerns and tackle them head on. If you show interest in them and resolving their issues, it will minimise their negative ongoing effect.
• Accept it. It may be that they don’t even realise they have this effect on you? It may be that it is your reaction that is causing the stress. What if you just gave yourself a break, how might you feel then?
• Don’t take it personally. Everyone has their kryptonite, and has the same dilemma to work through in their own way. You are not being targeted!
• You may think that avoiding them is the right thing to do but it seldom is. Sure, avoiding unnecessary clashes is probably helpful but not to simply avoid them for weeks on end. You’ll only compound any difficulties and this only gets in the way of you getting the job done (let alone niggling away at the back of your mind; not healthy).

This is not easy to do but is something you will need to address at some point of your career. Best of luck.

If anyone has any tried and tested approaches to this (or even some risky but successful ones) please share them in the comments below. Thanks.

I’m a global corporate Talent & People Development leader trying to ‘get out more’ and share my experience with those looking to learn and develop their careers.

If you’re here to learn, I’m here to help.

You can find out more at www.careeringtosuccess.com and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/robert-craig-cts