How do I deal with an overly assertive and outgoing co-worker?

Question

Me and him are of equal rank, and we work on projects together. He is bit more outspoken than I am, and he gets his point across. We get a new co-worker, and he automatically jumps at the chance to invite him to lunch, and then he gets assigned to give him a tour of a facility, in which I have more knowledge of it than he does. I get invited as if I were his subordinate or something. If he begins to show off, what should I do?

Answer 1

Your co-worker sounds like a real go-getter. You sound bitter and angry. Maybe you should learn from him, because he sounds like he knows how to reach out to people, to network, and to promote himself. If your think your co-worker is "showing off", you should say and do absolutely nothing -- you should stay professional and dispassionate instead. Work speaks for itself; if he is truly "showing off", rather than just being an outgoing, assertive person (two very important traits in the workplace), then people will think less of him. If you say something negative, it will reflect poorly on you rather than him.