Investing in the Failure of Others

Investing in the failure of others may sound odd, but it is a characteristic of bullying behavior. History is full of people who wanted others to fail for personal gain. Practices such as these indicate that something is wrong with the organization's emotional well-being. A sick organization is created when the hierarchy of needs is not met, such as when the workplace is unstable or unsafe, or social needs are ignored, and when a lack of respect is the norm, and self-efficacy, fulfillment, and autonomy are missing in the organization.  

Dr. Stewart

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Reward and Recognition Review

Reward and recognition programs may harbor many inefficiencies and possible justice issues. To determine whether these inequities exist in your reward and recognition, it is essential to examine trends and patterns across departments, divisions, and regions.

Some things to examine are trends and patterns indicating success variables, such as only certain groups participating for recognition, whether certain groups are excluded, and whether specific rewards and recognition are devalued and replaced by the pursuit of unmet needs. Reward and recognition programs that eliminate marginalized populations promote the survival of the fittest mentality, and hopelessness and despair for those who cannot compete.

Dr. Debra Stewart

An Organizational Approach to Workplace Bullying 

The Loudest and Most Fearful Often Rise to Power

Certain industries and positions seem to cultivate aggressive communication due to the sheer emotional and/or physical demands of the job. Often, leaders and employees have never been given the tools to manage adrenaline, fear, anxiety, and failure. As communication degrades in the workplace, the loudest and most fearful often rise to power. Communication training can help individuals understand their communication styles and those of their coworkers, and with skill development, employees and leaders can learn to state their needs respectfully. Dr. Stewart

An Organizational Approach to Workplace Bullying

Labeling with Intent to Assassinate

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, require experience and education through residency at reputable hospitals and universities before acquiring the credentials to diagnose and provide treatment. This process takes years of dedication and hard work. Journalists, talk show hosts, or news reporters are not known to have these credentials and should stay within their respective realms of influence and competence. Otherwise, it is just labeling with an intent to assassinate character.  -Dr. Stewart

Tug-of-War

Can you bring two parties together who have acted defensively and resistively? Yes, it is just a matter of returning to each party's mission and values and evaluating the return on investment of such behavior. When bad actors compete, the showdown is meant to be a search-and-destroy mission. Constituents of both parties run from, look away from, or become disgusted when bad tug-of-war behavior is the only form of collaboration and communication. In a tug-of-war, a show of strength and character is the assumed agenda; however, when parties react defensively or are resistant, the weakness of character in each party becomes apparent, and the strength of the members diminishes. Dr. Stewart 

An Organizational Approach to Workplace Bullying

Communication in The Toxic Workplace

When triads exist, otherwise stable employees begin to use dysfunctional methods to communicate about everyday work processes. Dr. Dennis O'Grady (2015), in his Friday Talk News release, clarifies the role of servant leadership: to control your mood so that you can fully exhibit your servant-leader character. Within the bully triad, important components of effective communication are missing, and Dr. O'Grady lists eight select components of effective communication that must be a part of servant leadership and the culture of every healthy organization:

·         Respect. Respect for others is shown by acknowledging their value as human beings.

·         Empathy. Empathy leads to trust and creates strong bonds between people.

·         Lack of blame. Lack of blame is the ability not to become defensive and the willingness to admit mistakes, focusing on correcting the problem, not the person.

·         Humility. Humility is a lack of arrogance. Humility means one does not think less of themselves—they just think more of others.

·         Emotional mastery. Emotional mastery, most importantly, is the ability to control anger. Emotional mastery requires remaining calm, refraining from berating others, managing anxiety, and reflecting before acting.

·         Responsibility. Responsibility is accepting ownership by being accountable.

·         Self-confidence. Self-confidence is feeling equal to others, even when they hold formal power. Self-confident people build self-confidence in others and, in the process, are not threatened by doing so. Rather, they find growth within themselves.

·         Courage. Courage is the willingness to take risks. Courageous people are sometimes known to ask forgiveness rather than permission. They are willing to try even though they may fail. They overcome obstacles, and their courage inspires others to change.

These selected elements of effective communication pertain to interpersonal and intrapersonal communication. However, organizations that also embed these elements into managerial communication, policies, procedures, organizational standards, and daily memos will see their efforts and strategies for healing the organization realized sooner. -Dr. Stewart

An Organizational Approach to Workplace Bullying

Expense of a Toxic Workplace

Organizational administrators often stand ready to adapt to costly new management and leadership programs to offset the rising cost of doing business in a toxic environment, enlisting consultants to diagnose organizational culture and to produce treatment plans filled with cognitive behavioral approaches that are vague and short-lived. While some consulting expense is necessary, organizational leaders may be missing the easiest of all remedies for toxic workplace environments and the escalating cost of doing business within an industry, which can be found in this book titled Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully. Dr. Stewart

The Importance of Gratitude in the Workplace

Substance abuse is higher in organizations where bullying exists, and bully triads (The Bully, Victim, and Bystander) promote a vast array of unhealthy behaviors and risky lifestyle choices. Also, it is well-known that substance abuse in the workplace increases accident and injury rates and absentee rates. According to research, gratitude is effective in helping people recover from addictive behaviors. For example, 12-step alcohol and gambling treatment programs also include gratitude as part of the recovery process. Gratitude is used in these programs to promote a positive attitude and to redirect negative lamenting over areas of loss and feelings of lack of control. An individual’s level of gratitude is an indicator of feelings of personal competency. When workplaces or educational settings focus on gratitude, employees are more likely to engage in positive pursuits, such as contributing at higher levels.

 -Dr. Stewart

 

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  Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

What Victims do When There is a Bully in the House

Victims waste time at work and at home building a defense against the bully's abuse, politicking for support, and just running scenarios in their mind trying to form a corrective plan of action. Behaviors such as these interfere with productivity and employee motivation and eventually leave the employee with a sense of diminished self-efficacy and self-worth. Additionally, innovation in the workplace suffers because creative energies are redirected to meet unmet needs and to protect marginalized victims. Victims are known to create silo mentalities where information and resources are hidden to reduce the chance of interference from the bully. Silo mentalities are behaviors that are great time wasters for other more productive teams because of the restricted communication that it creates between departments, divisions, and partnerships.

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  Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

 

Senior Adult Bullying

Seldom discussed is senior bullying because, as adults age and become marginalized in some way, others think that they must restrict their freedom of choice for protection from others or bad personal choices. Still, in other ways, predators are allowed to scam older adults without reprimand. Also, silent bullying occurs, such as limited research and funding for the sensory deficits that occur with age, which are known to reduce socialization and lead to more complicated morbidity. Remember, the first step in bullying management and prevention is to label the behavior, event, or injustice. - Dr. Stewart

 

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  Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

Evil and Dehumanization

Zimbardo discussed anonymity as one of the seven slopes to describe evil in new situations. A systemic issue with anonymity is the dehumanization of others. Dehumanizing others is common and surprisingly easy in the political swamp because it is easier to group or stereotype to achieve an economy of effort when addressing so many needs. Dehumanizing others is also a common bully-type behavior because bullies refuse to acknowledge a person or group's spirit, individual strengths, and abilities. The question is can we serve or affiliate with groups and beliefs without dehumanizing others?

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  Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

If You See Something, Say Something

The bystander in the bully event triad must be knowledgeable enough to recognize unethical bully-type communication, coercion, and suspicious activity when working in cultures where the workplace or educational setting is unhealthy. Choosing sides and being transparent after the fact is ineffective, especially if the bully's unethical behavior could have been reported and diverted. "If You See Something, Say Something" is a phrase used by the Department of Homeland Security to raise awareness of foreign and domestic terrorism. But it's also good advice for preventing and maintaining bully triad behaviors, which can be extraordinarily costly and increase the risk of doing business.

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  Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

Don't Lie and Don't Be Rude

The chameleons of the political swamp are also members of the bully triad: the bully, the victim, and the bystander. Members of the bully triad can switch roles at any time, depending on current predators and swamp resources. What would it take to stabilize the political swamp so that effective policy, negotiations, and collaboration flow without the tedium of the toxic exchange of hate, violence, and even avoidance? The answer is: don't lie, don't be rude, and follow the standing rules of engagement for civility during peacetime and when opposing forces are active. -Dr. Stewart

Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully sounds like a misnomer; however, bullies are only using skills and talents inappropriately. It is known that bully manipulation and misuse of power can devastate work teams and organizational culture. What if those same energies and skill were used appropriately and without the unrestrained ego, greed, and self-centeredness found within carefully planned and executed bully events? What if instead of having a talent for setting up dirty alliances and bully intentions, the brutal wit of the bully was reorganized and aligned with the mission and values of the organization? Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully looks at the potential found in the bully and the need to fix the culture before considering termination of the bully.

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