Are You Facing A Workplace Bully?  

Bullies are no longer relegated to the playground. Yes, you read that correctly. Workplace bullies are alive and well and sitting in the cube around the corner or down the hall from you. They intimidate, dominate, hold regular temper tantrums and even can have the boss neatly wrapped around their finger without anyone really noticing.

In working with organizations, large and small, I have seen my share of bullies and their counterpart, "babies" go round and round in their cat and mouse games of power. Are you working with a bully? Could you accept that they could be the best "medicine" for turning your department or organization around, IF you know how?

In this message, I will share first with you the three key characteristics of a traditional Bully in the workplace:

Domineering

It is their way or the "highway"- inflexible, intolerant of others outlooks, with a tendency to intimidate others into submission when their desires, beliefs or needs are crossed.

Fear Mongers

They gain their "power" by creating fear in other people. I don't mean the scary movie kind. I mean the kind that makes you second guess yourself and your decisions. Bullies chip away at others self esteem by introducing negative scenarios over and over again. They reinforce the worst in you rather than the best.

Strategic

They most often surface when in a group atmosphere, using the energy of the meeting or gathering to catch you by surprise. Political, superior at sabotage, their "take you by surprise" tactics can debilitate if not even destroy the most motivated of employees. They often "hide" next to the power of a leader or someone in a position of authority. Sometimes being called a "Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde" split personality, they will maintain one persona with those in power and an entirely different one with those from whom they can obtain nothing.