OK, you’ve just started a new job. Or, maybe you have been working there for a while. But, one thing is clear! There is a brown noser among you. Maybe you noticed it or someone gave you the heads up about it.
If you are reading this at work maybe you should make sure that that person is not near you. Read this later if he/she is close by. Besides most employers don’t allow non work activities on the internet these days. But, if you can read it now than go ahead.
First of all, how close is this brown noser to you? Do you work directly with this person everyday? Or, do you only work with this person on occasions? The further you are to this person the better. It doesn’t much matter if this person is your supervisor, coworker, partner or competitor. All that matters is how close you work with that person. Why do I say that.
All brown nosers need a host. That is someone that they will pick to use for their own purposes. Lets say it is you that they pick. This is what they will do. He/she will always speak very nice and politely to you. They will appear to you to be on your side and you may actually trust that person. That’s great if that is all that it is. But in reality, they are watching and finding out exactly what you are doing on the job. He/she will do twice as much as you have done and make sure that the boss sees it and all others who make important decisions such as promotions and raises.
Let me give you some typical examples of what he/she may do to brown nose their way to the top. Lets say you are working on a project with this person. The both of you worked very hard on it together. But, when it comes time for the presentation of the finished project, here’s when his/her nose turns dark brown. He/she will point out certain things in the project that he/she did to everyone to bring attention to him/her self. Mind you, never mentioning a thing that you did.
Lets say that you arranged for a staff meeting and you provided lunch to be ordered in. Everyone thought that was nice of you. He/she will organize another staff meeting and arrange that they have a out of the office meeting. Do you see what I mean? Suddenly, your meeting wasn’t as great. And, others will say what a nice person he/she is to take us out for a meeting.
Here’s the worst scenario! Let’s say that you have been working like a dog on a long project for maybe three weeks already. You told your boss that you will give the results when you are done. Well, what you don’t know is that the brown noser is collecting information about your project and giving reports to upper management about your project. So, when you go to make your big presentation that you worked your tail off for to management. Guess what happens? They will say, Great job! So and so(brown noser) told me how I was going to be pleased with the end results. He/she just stole your thunder! Management now thanks him/her for watching out how the project was going. Some brown nosers will record or take pictures of their work and send it to management and anyone else who can help them get a better position in their career. And, when it comes to making the choice between you and the brown noser. Guess who wins! That’s right. Why, because he/she has well documented their accomplishments with management. Have you? Maybe not.
I don’t mean to scare you with this article but to educate you and let you know to be more aware of your working surroundings. Remember, times are tough now. Companies are laying people off left and right.
And, if you are a brown noser your self. I understand why you do it but you don’t have to make others look small for your benefit. Or, if you are riding on someone else’s coattails to look good to management, shame on you!
