The Psychology of the Swamp No. 22: Communication in the Swamp

When triads exist, otherwise stable employees begin to use dysfunctional methods to communicate everyday processes at work. Dr. Dennis O’Grady (2015), in his Friday Talk News release, clarifies the role of servant leadership, which is 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 willingness to admit mistakes with a focus 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 is, most importantly, the ability to control anger. Emotional mastery requires remaining calm, not berating others, controlling anxiety, and reflecting before acting.

·         Responsibility. Responsibility is accepting ownership by being accountable.

·         Self-confidence. Self-confidence is feeling equal to others, even when others may be in a position of 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 risk. 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 other to change.

These select elements of effective communication are about interpersonal and intrapersonal communication. However, organizations that also embed these elements into managerial communication, policies, and procedures; organizational standards; and daily memos will see their efforts and strategies for healing the organization realized sooner.

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  Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

The role model for servant leadership.

The Psychology of the Swamp No. 21: 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.

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  Finding the Good in the Workplace Bully

 

The Psychology of the Swamp No. 20: The Importance of Gratitude

Substance abuse is higher in organizations where bullying exists, and bully triads 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 and absentee rates. According to research, gratitude is effective in the recovery of 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 for feelings of personal competency, and when the workplace is focused on gratitude, employees focus more on positive pursuits such as contributing at higher levels in the workplace.

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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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