Archive for May, 2009
Deal with Bullies in the workplace
Time and time again, I hear stories from women about bullies in the workplace. Most of the times it is a man, but often enough, it is a woman. They live with fear that they will be the target of the bully’s wrath and do whatever they can do avoid any situation that might set the bully off.
A bully in the workplace is no different than the bully back in elementary school. They are driven by insecurity, looking to suck the power out of you by trying to intimidate you, scare you, or have you submit to their power. They can’t take your power unless you give it to them, but when you are in fear, it can be nearly impossible to stand up for yourself. To manage the bully, you need to understand what is going on. Here are the steps I suggest to clients:
Step 1 – Figure out why the bully has the need to dominate others. Is he/she stress driven, mean spirited, insecure, trying to protect their turf, or some other reason? If you know what drives them, you can better understand what sets them off.
Step 2 – Don’t make excuses for their bad behaviour. Women will try to justify Read more
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