Many of us assume workplace sabotage is driven by malice. Sometimes it is, yet more often it is driven by insecurity. People who feel threatened by another person's competence may begin protecting their own position instead of contributing to the team's success.
In psychology, this is often linked to a scarcity mindset, the belief that opportunities are limited and someone else's success automatically reduces our own.
Several weeks ago, I became absolutely convinced a project partner was trying to ruin my life. We'd spent ages on the phone going over the next steps, and he clearly said, twice, that he would send the first email to the client. Twice! I mentally filed the project under ‘handled’ and moved on with my life. A week later... nothing. So I checked in, expecting an apology for the delay. Instead, I got an email informing me thatIhad “misunderstood” and thatIwas the one who was supposed to send the email. I was livid! I briefly wished I'd invited my otter (otter.ai- a virtual note taker and meeting voice recorder) to record the meeting. But after my inner courtroom adjourned, I remembered something I try very hard to practise: assume good intentions.
Sometimes you're simply two adults who walked away from the exact same conversation understanding completely different versions of reality but sometimes… a colleague might be plotting your downfall and if you've worked long enough, you've probably encountered a situation like this.
In my case, it turns out that we misunderstood each other, and I’ve now started inviting my otter to meetings to keep a track record. However when workplace sabotage does occur our instinct is to ask, "Why are they doing this to me?" But, perhaps a better question to ask is, "What are they afraid of?"
Reframing this matters because many of us assume workplace sabotage is driven by malice. Sometimes it is, yet more often it is driven by insecurity. People who feel threatened by another person's competence may begin protecting their own position instead of contributing to the team's success. In psychology, this is often linked to a scarcity mindset, the belief that opportunities are limited and someone else's success automatically reduces our own.
In many of our African workplaces, that feeling can be intensified since promotions are few and professional opportunities are tied to extended family. When one promotion has the potential to pay school fees, support ageing parents or change a household's future, competition can become personal. It doesn't justify sabotage, but it does help explain why otherwise reasonable people sometimes make unreasonable decisions.
Ironically, the person undermining you is rarely competing with your performance, they are competing with their own fear.
So what should you do if you find yourself on the receiving end of workplace sabotage?
Start with curiosity, not confrontation. Ask questions before making accusations. This might sound like: "I noticed I wasn't included in that email. Was there something I missed?" or "Can you help me understand what happened here?" Curiosity reduces defensiveness and shows you're paying attention. If it becomes a pattern, however, document it. Stick to facts, not emotions. Documentation is more effective if you need to involve a manager or HR.
Assess the environment honestly. Ask yourself: Is this one difficult colleague? Or is this the workplace culture? There's a big difference.
If it's one person: Set clear boundaries. Don’t be afraid to have difficult conversations, communicate directly and professionally.
If it's the culture: Look for signs such as: gossip being rewarded, office bullying being tolerated openly, internal competition being encouraged and leadership repeatedly ignoring poor behaviour. At that point, the problem is organizational. Genuinely ask yourself if this is an environment where you can continue to grow.
Don't allow someone else's insecurity to make you cynical or let office politics convince you that integrity is naïve or that generosity is weakness. Those qualities build your reputation and a reputation has a remarkable way of following you long after difficult colleagues have disappeared.
