Don't Ask

If you have a question, think twice before asking. Questions are great opportunities for the person being asked to flaunt their perceived superiority over you.  They love it and you can see the sarcasm and superior attitude begin to formulate on their face right after the question is asked. This is their way of affirming their status and speaking down to you. It is a petty power play to make them feel superior in their minds to the person asking the question.

Delays and not answering are also tactics of the feeble minded to try and get under your skin. They know damned well that the question is simple and can be dispensed of in a matter of seconds however they prefer to delay, not answer and pretend the question was not asked. This increases their perceived superiority.

Another tactic is to throw the question back at you and ask you for an answer that you do not have. This tactic is used when a manager wants to put an employee in their place. The employees asks “… hey – can you take a look at this proposal and let me know what you think? Them manager responds with,
well, what do you think?” Answering a question with a question is a well-worn tactic. Examples of this are “..well ,what is the real question?”  This type of answer pre-supposes a motive behind the question that is not being presented indicating lack of trust and an expectation of ulterior motives and dishonesty in the original question.

Asking a ‘higher up’ or in this case, the attorney about what other roles and responsibilities she might have in the organization other than contracts can also get you questioned. This will be seen as an affront and an insult to the attorney. How dare you ask her about what other activities or tasks she has! How dare you speak to her at all! You will be confronted with “I heard you asked the attorney about what else she does..” “She took that as an insult about her capability…”   Good, I thought. If she’s that mentally weak, maybe her capability is lacking.

The biggest problem with all of this cloak and dagger, smoke and mirrors chess game of asking a simple question is the culture of distrust and negativity it breeds in the people that run a company, its managers and employees.  Lower rung employees instantly glom onto the preferred method of answering questions with a question, deflecting and becoming obtuse and sarcastic. Before you know it, the entire staff is a miserable, aloof and confrontational bunch whose presence you cannot stand while the mere sight of them makes you want to take the stairs instead of the elevator.