Recent MC Press articles have discussed some of the many and varied personalities that comprise the company workforce. We've examined the go-to people and the floaters—the good and the not-so-good. Now, we turn to the ugly: those preternatural beings with the negative vibes whose sole purpose is to suck the blood out of the company and anyone with whom they come into contact. The bloodsuckers operate on the vampire principle, which states that it's always open season to drain the lifeblood from any warm-blooded creature. Since pets do not comprise most workforces, the only prey are other people and the company itself: its strategic goals, idealistic visions, short-term tactical operations, etc. Nothing and no one escapes the purview of the bloodsucker.

It is important to differentiate the bloodsuckers from the floaters. Floaters are usually benevolent, albeit inchoate, people who disrupt others' work but only do harm when they actually have to get work done because they never think things through in a thorough manner and are likely to forget important details ("Oops, you mean the program didn't run last night because I forgot to hit Enter?"). Floaters can be created by bloodsuckers. Sometimes, becoming a floater is a coping mechanism. After losing their sanity and self-respect because they have been the object of the bloodsucker's abuse and they have no prospects of ever receiving a promotion, raise, or transfer, all these people really are capable of doing is floating in limbo.

Bloodsuckers, on the other hand, are truly driven people. They have a purpose and an agenda—usually nefarious—and their machinations don't simply disrupt the workplace; these people actually prevent ideas from ever becoming realized as projects. They quash ideas, veto new proposals or projects, and squash other employees' hopes and dreams by sucking the life force out them, morphing them into shells of their former selves: bloodless extractions.

Bloodsuckers, much like vampires and shape-shifters (yes, all I learned in life I learned from Star Trek), can take on many forms. Below are a few. I invite the MC Press readership to add to the list.

• Johnny/Janie on the Spot—These are the garden variety bloodsuckers. When asked to do something by their managers or superiors, they can immediately and without hesitation rattle off at least a hundred reasons why it can't be done, they can't do it, and it's stupid. They provide neither guidance nor support, and if they have power, they're likely to veto any project or idea you proffer.
• The Marquis de Sade—This flavor of bloodsucker despises people who are bright, eager, competent, and nice—most especially if those people work for them. At every turn, they seek to criticize and torture the employees, driving them to resign, morph into mini Marquis de Sades and/or become floaters.
• Janus—A truly devious person, the Janus-faced bloodsucker will agree with you and even praise you one-to-one and then, in front of your peers or his/her superiors, denounce you. Other tactics of the Janus-faced bloodsucker are pulling your department budget out from under you and then demanding that you still run the department with efficiency and efficacy—while grinning at you from ear to ear.
• Passive-Aggressive—Unlike the Janus-faced bloodsucker, these characters will listen to you, agree with you, and tell you that will they champion your cause or bring your ideas to the table at the next meeting—and then do nothing.
• The Cheatin' Thief—Like the passive-aggressive bloodsucker, he/she will not only listen to your ideas, but then make them his/her own and take the credit for them.
• The Silicon Avatar/Crystalline Entity—Yep. From the fifth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. These bloodsuckers are the most heinous of all. They leave only death and destruction in their wake. They are ruthless and dictatorial, oftentimes cleaning house immediately upon ascending to their proverbial thrones.

Coping with bloodsuckers is difficult, if not downright impossible, depending on your relationship to and with them. Sometimes, with great skill and cunning, you can beat them at their own game. Other times, not. Oftentimes, we have to be realistic and act before we are entangled in the bloodsucker's web and become either dinner or damned. Human Resources is not always the best place to go unless there are multiple complaints from multiple employees or you have a crackerjack team that knows how to handle and resolve these types of interpersonal issues. If you organize like-minded others, then you might find yourself cast in the role of troublemaker rather than victim (ironic, isn't it?). The avoidance principle also works—for awhile.

I hate to say it, but if the bloodsucker is your manager or supervisor and you are at a point of no return, it is best to update the ol' resume and put your energies into finding a better job. In a large company, you may be able to work on sharpening your skills or acquiring new skills and then applying for another job within the company and/or requesting a transfer. Of course, you can try to reason with the bloodsucker, but remember that vampires have no choice: They must suck the lifeblood from others or perish.

Maria A. DeGiglio is President of, and Principal Analyst for, Maria A. DeGiglio & Associates, an advisory firm that provides clients with accurate and actionable information on business and technology initiatives. You can reach Ms. DeGiglio at mdegiglio@aol.com.