There's a big difference between a difficult team member and a toxic team member. If you think you
have a toxic team member, one that makes you go, ah, then by all means, watch this video, because
I'm going to give you the red flags that you need to be aware of if you have a toxic team member.
And if you stay tuned to the end of this video, I'm going to have something very special for you
to ensure that your projects are not toxic. Hi, if you're new here, welcome. My name is
Adrian Girdler, and on this channel, you're going to get the best practical project
management advice coming to you weekly. So please consider subscribing to this awesome community.
Now, if you want to know what are some of those red flags that you must be aware of in
regards to toxic team members? Let's get to it. They are just rude. Now, we've all come across,
at one point in time, where someone just maybe had some really poor communication skills,
and by what they said, it stunned us. But when it happens consistently and people are rude,
and disrespectful, and condescending, and it's a constant thing. And even how things are presented,
it's done like a backhanded slap, either compliment, let's say,
but it's really done in a rude way. That is a sign or a definite red flag of a toxic person.
Because with any team member, you're supposed to be respectful. You're supposed to be collaborative
and have some compassion for your team members. But when you have someone who's not doing any
of that, that's a red flag and something you need to be aware of. And if you can nip it in the bud,
by addressing that rude comment, I highly recommend that.
They take credit for your accomplishments. Again, another big red flag when it comes to a toxic team
member. When you're in a team you're supposed to be working together. In fact, it's usually
not just one person doing all the work, it's a collaboration of everyone doing work together.
And in fact, someone's work may feed into someone else's, before it goes to the end result of the
last person dealing with it, or you're getting feedback and input and brainstorming, but it is a
collaboration. And when someone is taking credit for all the work that other people are doing,
that is definitely a sign of toxicity because they want all the glory. And it's not about the glory,
it's about working together collaboratively in order to get the work done. That is a red flag
that you need to look into, because that's to telling you that person is only thinking about
themselves, and also has potentially a political agenda in mind if they're looking to take
all the credit, so definite big red flag. They are too emotional. Now, let me just
clarify right now, because I don't want to hear anything up in the comments. Emotions are good.
There's nothing wrong with emotions. It's the extremeness of emotions that becomes very toxic.
It's when the slightest thing sets people off. It's if you're feeling like you're walking
around or walking on eggshells around them, that's the issue. So in a normal conversation,
if you say something and the reaction should just be, you can be a little disappointed or upset,
but they go into right out anger and yelling and screaming. Whoa, that's toxicity, and that
is a big red flag that you definitely need to be aware of. So being too overly emotional,
and it's not just the anger part of it, it could even be on the other extreme side of manipulation
and being super sad and overtaking everything because there's a manipulation to that. That's
the toxicity part you just have to be aware of, because that over emotion, where it's overly done,
is a huge red flag. They don't, or won't listen. Now,
before we move on to this tip, I want you to listen. If you like what you're hearing so far,
please give this video a like, as it helps us spread the community and I really would
appreciate it. So thank you so much. Now let's go back to that tip of they won't or don't listen.
That is a big sign and red flag of a toxic team member is that it's their way or the highway.
And any other alternative, they're not going to listen to it, or they find some way to deflect.
All of that leads to you not being able to share concepts or ideas or resolve issues.
And it really can derail items that you're working on collectively as a team,
when the whole purpose is to stick on your track, your deliverable, your agenda, whatever it is that
you're doing collectively. So that aspect of they won't listen or they have their hidden agenda and
they're trying to get it through, and that's why they're not listening. That is a huge red flag,
so definitely watch out for that. They are never wrong. Let me just
really stress something clear here. We're human. We're not perfect. We're going to make mistakes.
We're not automated where I can program myself to ensure that I give the same output all the
time. We are going to make mistakes. And a toxic person and a big red flag is when they do not take
any ownership or admit for when a mistake is made. That's normal, of course, you're going to make
mistakes, but you have to own it. And you have to ensure and speak with your other team members
and admit to it, so that you can course correct accordingly. So you can get back on track.
Why? Because that's what teams do, they work together to ensure that the overall goal and
deliverable is met. Toxic team member, however, won't even admit to it, may even keep mum until
you figure out, when it's way too late, that they didn't even do the work they were supposed to do
because they're not going to talk to it. Just watch out for that, that's another red flag.
Now that you know the signs and those red flags of toxic team members that you do have to be aware
of, I want you to now take a look at this. It's a free download just for you. I have it under
this link under this video. Because your team members can be toxic, your projects can be toxic,
and you want to know how to ensure that you don't go to failure mode, and so you need to do this.
The beauty of it, it's free. It's free for you. Check it out. It's not going to hurt you. It's
only going to help you. On that note, thank you so much. And I'll see you on the next video.