Ever had a colleague who suddenly becomes helpless when it’s time to pull their weight? That’s weaponized incompetence—the workplace version of “Oops, I don’t know how to do that” conveniently leaving someone else to pick up the slack.

In this episode, we’ll unpack how this strategic laziness erodes teams, why it’s not just harmless cluelessness, and how to spot (and stop) it before you become the office cleanup crew.

CONNECT:

• • ⁠⁠Alex on Substack⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex on Medium⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex on LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠
  • ⁠⁠⁠⁠Alex's Author Website⁠⁠⁠

Join the Conversation: We want to hear your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to share your experiences with crisis communications and the strategies that have worked for you.

Get more great content on the website at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠PRAfterHours.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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Announcer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mary McKenna⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. PR After Hours Theme: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://filmmusic.io⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ "Bossa Antigua" by Kevin MacLeod

This PR After Hours Podcast episode was recorded and mixed at Green Shebeen Studios in beautiful Kansas City, Missouri. Copyright 2025, all rights reserved. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission. As an Amazon Associate, we earn a small commission on some of our Amazon links.