I used to believe that being kind to bad people would somehow change them. I was wrong. Take my toxic manager, for instance. I went above and beyond, listened to his nonsense, and even did everything he asked, no matter how unreasonable it was. But guess what? He remained a toxic, snarky a--hole. It's crazy how the nicer and more obliging I was, the worse his behavior became. I'm never making that mistake again. If you're an a--hole to me, watch me be an a--hole back at you, no matter the consequences. I've been much happier at work since I figured that out.
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I left in 2019 but my story is very similar. This is how I would summarize the management culture at 3M:
Entitled
Lazy
Stupid
It is a waste of everyones time supplicating to such people.
This is an example of why 3M is going down. Too many people think their JG and/or management role actually means something. Being a manager at 3M only means you have direct reports, that’s all. You’re not special
You can set boundaries without being an a##hole.
It's a fundamental communication skill that I learned very early on. If you act passively to an a-hole aggressive person, they will walk all over you. Meet their aggression with aggression and in most cases suddenly they will respect you more. The aggressive a-hole pandemic is running wild at 3M, so hopefully the smart youngsters will learn this technique to keep these insecure and not so smart little bullies at bay.
People do what works. He was a (pick your word) and you tried harder. Why would he stop?