Can you bring two parties together who have acted in defensive and resistive ways? Yes, it is just a matter of returning to the mission and values of each party and evaluating the return on investment of such behavior. When bad-actors compete, the showdown is meant to search and destroy. Constituents of both parties run from, look away or become disgusted when bad tug-of-war behaviors are the only form of collaboration and communication. In a tug-of-war, a show of strength…..
Diagnosing psychological conditions without the proper credentials is labeling and a form of bullying because it is character assassination. All medical fields including mental health psychologists and psychiatrists are required to have the necessary experience and education through residency with reputable hospitals and universities before acquiring the credentials to have the privilege and the ability to diagnosis and provide treatment, which takes years of dedication and hard work. Journalists, talk show hosts, or news reporters are not known to have…..
Investing in the failure of others sounds odd, but it is a characteristic behavior of the bully. History is full of people who wanted others to fail for personal gain. Practices such as these indicate that something is wrong with the emotional well-being of the organization. A sick organization is created when the hierarchy of needs are not met, such as when the workplace is unstable or unsafe or social needs are ignored and when a lack of respect is…..
Cyberbullying is different than workplace or school bullying in that it is difficult to describe and identify. Cyberbullying occurs across personal digital devices and social, and public media and often involves negative, false, and harmful information that damages self-worth, self-esteem, or the character of another person. In general, cyberbullying intimidates others, is threatening, menacing and causes mental duress. The definition of cyberbullying is very personal and can be different among varies cultures, industries, and political regions. To harm one’s self-worth,…..
Organizational leaders examine and analyze the workplace environment for anything that may hinder brand image, retention of brand knowledge, productivity, and retention of human resource talent, employee satisfaction, and customer satisfaction. When issues are found, leaders group them into system problems. However, the dilemma may be an organizational culture problem with bully triads that are tarnishing the brand image or undermining the mission and vision.
Organizations that have toxic cultures struggle with sharing communication and knowledge. Victims and bystanders from the bully triad work defensively to protect their work from the information and knowledge sequestering activity of the bully. The bully seeks to be the gatekeeper of all relevant organizational information so that when dilemmas develop, they can reap the rewards of their ill-gotten gains. In a recent study of 400 companies, the cost of poor communication was estimated to be over $62 million per…..
Sexual harassment is a form of bullying. The perpetrator sees the victim as a powerless object to control for ego fulfillment rather than as an individual entitled to power and autonomy. For workplace sexual harassment the courts and the EEOC have set specific guidelines for addressing sexual harassment in the workplace. However, when a person preys on another individual the victim is placed in a position of lower-power, and the stress of possibly compromising values and beliefs becomes a trigger…..
Throughout Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully, recommendations for culture change, naming the behavior, training and development, communication reform, and changes in policies and procedures have been made in order to build a healthier bully-free workplace. Although the bully triad may be responsible for the mayhem, the culture of the organization often becomes the breeding ground for the toxic workplace. When organizations are looking for a quick fix to the problem, they may fire all who are responsible for…..
Microaggression is a form of bullying. Microaggression is a prejudiced attitude toward another individual or group that is expressed purposely or as an unintentional use of poorly chosen words related to stereotyping. Some forms of microaggression seem more innocent than others; however, other expressions of prejudiced attitudes are meant to harm and express racial dominance. During the early stages of bully event recovery and organizational culture change, it will be critical to identify microaggression and help nonfunctional teams learn to…..
Conflict in the workplace is often thought of as negative and possibly destructive to peaceful operations and the status quo. However, conflict can increase creativity and innovation if the parties involved in the conflict are not bullied or asked to compromise their beliefs and values. Richard Mayer (1931) commented that to think of disagreements in the workplace as conflict management may not be the proper approach. Instead, relationship management better describes the process that is involved when individuals in the…..