The next component of the Dark Triad that should be addressed via positive character traits and actions is Machiavellianism. Machiavellianism is the manipulation of people and events for your personal gain. If often comes at the expense of others as long as the results justify the means by the person who benefits. On a low level, we might all have a bit of Machiavellianism in us. In various negotiations and field conversations, we often hold a few cards back as they relate to the topic of discussion. It’s a bit of a chess game that is (mostly) fairly done in all trailers and on all projects.
Machiavellianism goes wrong when the manipulation is extreme towards an egregious benefit by the manipulator or an egregious loss by someone other than the manipulator. While we can benefit in the short term with manipulation, it’s not a successful long term method of getting things done. Eventually, others will catch on to being manipulated or will not derive enough benefit from the relationship can shut things down. For construction pros, this can result in losing a great foreman (and their entire crew), long term client and/or reliable subcontractor or vendor. Jobs don’t get built right, or at all, if good team members won’t work with us.
So what do we do? The answer is pretty old school. It’s be honest and straightforward to the point of being boring. We should be candid to the point of discomfort. If people feel like one thing is hidden from them, they might feel like lots of things are hidden from them in the future. The same goes for manipulation where if a project team member was manipulated in the past, they will look for and avoid future manipulation. Being truthful and candid can combat feelings of dishonesty and manipulation. Being candid works best when used all the time. Don’t make things up but don’t hide things either. Feel free to politely let a client or sub know if you aren’t making money on something but aren’t asking for adjusted compensation because the contract doesn’t allow for it. When adjusted compensation is required, don’t exaggerate your claim. Be candid and be direct. If someone doesn’t respect that and doesn’t return the sentiment then you know where they stand.
Being candid removes some of the games our industry plays at times to help us build a better world, better. We can get back to building which is what most construction pros have fun doing. While being candid may remove the games, the fun of building remains and might even increase.
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