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The Anatomy of a Smear Campaign: Understanding & Responding to Covert Workplace Attacks- Part I

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Ah, the smear campaign. The go-to tactic of the hopelessly insecure and manipulative people in the workplace.


We often hear the term smear campaign associated with narcissists and narcissistic abuse, but the tactic is not only used by narcissists. In fact, this tactic has become common to use as part of the social and political games people engage in to get ahead.


If you've never heard the term smear campaign before, it is a coordinated or recurring effort to undermine, discredit, or isolate someone, often covertly or subtly, using social leverage, rumors, or selective truths.


In this 5-part series, I'll be breaking down the very predictable parts of a smear campaign, provide examples, and offer some tools and tips on building your awareness and protecting your piece if you are ever victim to a smear campaign. We'll also briefly tie in the concept of Social Machiavellianism and how its presence (and acceptance) in workplace culture is the driver of all things toxic the rest of us have to put up with. 


First, let's discuss: what makes someone a likely target of a smear campaign?

  • Standing out in any way from the group- whether that be intelligence, looks, personality, etc.

  • Being an independent thinker, not subject to fall for group think

  • Having empathy and compassion


"But Nicole, these are all good qualities- why would these make anyone a target?"


I'm glad you asked.


Insert social Machiavellianism. I'll be hosting a webinar on this topic soon (see link below to register) but essentially, people who subscribe to this way of being are focused not on connecting and building genuine relationships, but on the need to control others- by means of perception, not power (because they don't possess any). And- one of the principles they operate by is that it isn't necessary to actually have good qualities, but to just appear to have them. 


And....when they come across someone like you that actually possess these good qualities, they immediately become insecure and defensive. You authentically embodying these qualities threatens their facade. And they can't have people finding out they're a big old phony now, can they?


So, they use the smear campaign to manipulate perceptions and cause others to view you in a negative light, often ascribing their own qualities to you, while ascribing your good qualities to themselves. This is all to keep people confused, in the dark, and to escape accountability for the damage they cause in their pursuit of power and resources.


You've observed this before: the politically savvy executive that grins a mile wide in meetings, crafts the right verbiage to make people believe they actually care, and everyone just eats up every word- while you see through the facade, feel the fakery, and question why no one else sees what you do. 

To better understand and identify when you've been targeted, let's start dissecting the predictable phases of the typical smear campaign. We'll start with phase one here -the next phases will be discussed over the next few articles.


Phase 1 - Seeding the Narrative


Let's name our social Machiavellian Herb, for ease of describing their behaviors (totally made up, lol).


You've applied to your next role, and you meet Herb as part of the peer interview process. Herb is a respected executive within the company, and you'll be working closely with his team in your new role.


You leave the interview feeling excited; Herb (and the others) were pleasant. They said all of the right things to make you feel like this is the right role and place for you. And lucky you- you find out later that week you've landed the role! 


The first couple of weeks go smooth. You notice some inconsistencies in behaviors and communications, but you write it all off. 


What's happening:

  • Herb and his favorite minion on his team are actually threatened by you and your experience, but feel like they can use/manipulate your expertise- so they decide to bring you in. They influence the rest of the hiring team (your actual manager included) to bring you on.

  • They find you useful- but they do not want your expertise and influence to outweigh theirs. This of course will threaten the power they've crafted (via perception) over others. This is how they achieve their goals (not through actual skill).

  • They begin to introduce small distortions or half-truths about you into conversations or communications with coworkers. They do this to paint a picture of you, so that those people feel like they "know you" before they know you- taking advantage of primacy bias. Herb or his minions may give casual “warnings” or ask seemingly innocent questions designed to subtly cast doubt.

  • With you, you might notice Herb, his minion, or even others at this point (acting by proxy) testing you- what you believe in, your integrity, your skills, your boundaries; analyzing how you react to things. They are gathering data to use later to discredit you and support the story they've already told about you. You likely will just interpret this as coworkers trying to get to know you or other social niceties, so you willingly share in hopes of building connection.


Awareness & Reflection

The first step in counteracting Machiavellian behaviors of course is awareness and building the ability to differentiate between someone building genuine connection, versus building a case. Your spidey sense will likely feel something is off before you realize what's happening. When those senses kick in:


  • Avoid reactive engagement with coworkers. (They will attempt to bait you or to test to see if the horrible things Herb has seeded are true. They will be based on things Herb has gathered about you. Don't take the bait.)

  • Avoid sharing personal information. Keep conversations work related. (Herb needs data that seems legit in order to distort your reputation.)

  • Observe behavior- do you notice some folks acting differently around a specific person? (Some people may fear Herb or his close minions, so even though they may like you, they have to play the part around certain people.)

  • Do people who were once friendly with you all of a sudden withdraw or grow cold with you? (They have been told you did or said something negative towards them by Herb or his minions. They judge without checking in with you first.)

  • Have your work duties shifted away from what you were hired to do? Do you start off aligned, then all of a sudden find yourself assigned busy work or menial tasks that don't align with your expertise? (They were taking notes on how you execute your expertise, then they decided to mimic you while relegating you to meaningless tasks.)

  • Do you find yourself in meetings with random folks throughout the company, who seemingly have no connection to the work you do? (These are minions- the meeting is a set up for them to attempt to provoke you into displaying the qualities Herb and others have said you have- as social proof they (Herb & friends) should be trusted.)


Congratulations- you've been targeted! While I've chosen to view this as confirmation of my authenticity, I absolutely don't want to underscore the mental and emotional abuse and strain that often comes with smear campaigns- so we'll dig into that in the next article. 


This really gets to the heart of why I started this newsletter- the amount of peace and understanding awareness has brought me is invaluable- and I want to pass that along to those who've experience similar abuses in the workplace. Stay tuned for part II.


Nicole is an organizational consultant and personal coach, who is passionate about inspiring the changes our society needs for all to thrive. Using lessons learned from her own experiences and challenges, she hopes to help people within organizations by creating mentally, socially, and emotionally healthy workplaces for all.


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